John Ashcroft today issued a
classic non-denial denial in front of a pissed-off (and rightfully so) Senate Judiciary Committee today.
Responding to questions about the paper, Ashcroft said, "The president of the United States has not ordered any conduct that would violate the Constitution of the United States, that would violate not one of the laws enacted by the Congress or that would violate any of the various treaties."
Ashcroft would not comment directly on the 2002 departmental memo that laid out a rationale in which the president was not necessarily bound by anti-torture laws or treaties because of his authority as commander in chief to protect national security.
As I said, a classic - especially the use of circular logic. He comes out with a nice strong soundbite yet avoids saying anything about the actual issue at hand. Since the policy paper in question lays out a rationale by which the Administration is not breaking any laws, Ashcroft can say that no laws are being broken. Bah.
November can't come soon enough. I want these liars out of office so bad I can taste it.