Obama Leaves Door on Torture Prosecutions Ajar

Right on, Mr. President:

President Obama suggested today that it remained a possibility that the Justice Department might bring charges against officials of the Bush administration who devised harsh interrogation policies that some see as torture.

He also suggested that if there is any sort of investigation into these past policies and practices, he would be more inclined to support an independent commission outside the typical congressional hearing process. [...]

Calling the Bush-era memos providing legal justifications for enhanced interrogation methods "reflected us losing our moral bearings," the president said that he did not think it was "appropriate" to prosecute those CIA officers who "carried out some of these operations within the four corners of the legal opinions or guidance that had been provided by the White House."

But in clear change from language he and members of his administration have used in the past, the president said that "with respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more of a decision for the Attorney General within the parameters of various laws and I don't want to prejudge that."

This goes back to a post I wrote last night.

I think we all too often forget -- after the long era of corruption under Bush and Gonzalez -- that the Department of Justice is actually supposed to be insulated from the political machinations of the White House.

Considering this, it's worth pondering that the Obama administration's recent claims that the architects of the Bush torture memos shouldn't be prosecuted can be seen as a deft political move to distance Obama from any investigations that may be undertaken by his Attorney General, Eric Holder.

I suspect that Obama and his crew will be subtly laying as much responsibility for deciding to move forward with investigations on Eric Holder's doorstep. Sounds right to me...

Update: Think Progress makes a great point. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Holder said that the President cannot "immunize" torture and must enforce the law in all cases:

LEAHY: Do you believe that the president of the United States has authority to exercise a commander-in-chief override and immunize acts of torture? I ask that because we did not get a satisfactory answer from Former Attorney General Gonzales on that.

HOLDER: Mr. Chairman, no one is above the law. The president has a constitutional obligation to faithfully execute the laws of the United States. There are obligations that we have as a result of treaties that we have signed -- obligations, obviously, in the Constitution. Where Congress has passed a law, it is the obligation of the president, or the commander-in-chief, to follow those laws. [...]

If one looks at the various statutes that have been passed, it is my belief that the president does not have the power that you've indicated.