Mukasey's Paradox - Jonathan Turley

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-turley4mar04,0,4839406.story

Very interesting perspective by Mr. Turley. I found it a good read.

In his twisting of legal principles, the attorney general has succeeded in creating a perfect paradox. Under Mukasey's Paradox, lawyers cannot commit crimes when they act under the orders of a president -- and a president cannot commit a crime when he acts under advice of lawyers.



Such a perfect paradox is no easy task. Most attempts fall apart because of some element of logical consistency. The closest example to Mukasey's Paradox is the Grandfather Paradox: If you go back in time and kill your grandfather before he meets your grandmother, you would not be conceived and therefore you could not go back to kill your grandfather. That one can play real tricks with your head.

Mukasey's Paradox appears designed to play tricks with Congress. Its origins date back to Mukasey's confirmation hearings, when he first denied knowing what waterboarding was and then (when it was defined for him) refused to recognize it as torture. In fact, it is not only a crime under U.S. law, it is a well-defined war crime under international law.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-turley4mar04,0,4839406.story

Brilliant statement by Jonathan Turley.

have acquiesced to a wide range of criminality including pre-emptive wars, torture, evisceration of the Constitution, and looting of the US treasury just as surely as the intent has always been to loot Iraq's oil almost solely for the benefit of big oil. We have met the enemy and it is we the people for failure of the basic duty of citizenship, that is to stop all this in its tracks by every constitutional means available. Long live the king. :grr:

Feinstein and Schumer.

It can happen here. It does happen here. It has happened here.

And thanks to the hundreds of Reps and Dems who owe their lives and livliehoods to bush/cheney/rove, it will continue to happen here.

http://harpers.org/archive/2008/02/hbc-90002517