BREAKING 4/21/2009: Obama, in a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, has stated that he is for leaving the door open on Bush-Era Prosecution. This was given by the AP. More information when it becomes available....More information shown here via Politico:
TORTURE: POTUS left door open for prosecutions for those who formulated torture policies. On whether to prosecute those at CIA who formulated the laws, said AG Holder is looking into it, but his general view is to look forward not backward. (12:00 p.m.)
Despite recent admittance by Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod that there would be no "looking back" by the Obama administration. Something seems to be afoot and the recent NYTimes article that was edited tonight, lists a specific prosecutor possibility and the notation that Mr. Emanuel's admission this sunday DID NOT include the lawyers who wrote the memos.
Pressure grows to investigate interrogations
The decision to promise no prosecution of those who followed the legal advice of the Bush administration lawyers was easier, aides said, because it would be hard to charge someone for doing something the administration had determined was legal. The lawyers, however, are another story.
On Sunday, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said on the ABC News program "This Week" that "those who devised policy" also "should not be prosecuted." But administration officials said Monday that Mr. Emanuel had meant the officials who ordered the policies carried out, not the lawyers who provided the legal rationale.
The key is to keep up the pressure and this coupled with the recent Newsweek article acknowledging that Holder is going to be in charge of prosecution means that the effort provided by all is working indeed and there is something going on.
In Fact:
The administration has also not ruled out prosecuting anyone who exceeded the legal guidelines, and officials have discussed appointing a special prosecutor. One option might be giving the job to John H. Durham, a federal prosecutor who has spent 15 months investigating the C.I.A.’s destruction of videotapes of harsh interrogations.
So good work everyone. Keep it coming!
UPDATE I: Here's a link to Rachel Maddow speaking with Michael Isikoff on the issue
Msnbc link
Here's also a link to the Newsweek article written by Mr. Isikoff:
Newsweek