Spanish Judge Goes After John Yoo

I have often wondered "What part of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America didn't John Yoo understand"? C-J

Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon has decided to go ahead with his investigation of Bush-era lawyers involved in the US torture program, including UC Berkeley law school professor John Yoo, according to the Spanish newspaper Publico. The decision by Garzon, who is best known for indicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, comes in contrast to a statement earlier this year from Spain's leading prosecutor, who said that Yoo and his colleagues should first be investigated by US authorities. However, US Attorney General Eric Holder has since indicated that he has no plans to investigate Yoo, and instead has ordered a probe of CIA agents and contractors who tortured prisoners beyond what Yoo's torture memos authorized.

In addition to Yoo, Garzon will be investigating William Haynes II, the former Defense Department general counsel who now works for Chevron in San Ramon; federal Judge Jay Bybee, who was Yoo's boss in the Bush Justice Department; former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy; and David Addington, former Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.

— Robert Gammon