"The question shouldn't be whether to impeach Jay Bybee, but rather, how quickly..."

AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE JUDICIARY....

The question shouldn't be whether to impeach Jay Bybee, but rather, how quickly the impeachment hearings can begin.


Unlike memo authors like John Yoo and Steven Bradbury, Jay Bybee currently enjoys a lifetime appoint on a federal appeals court. The nomination was an insult, and his confirmation was absurd. But as the NYT editorial notes today, "These memos make it clear that Mr. Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him."

Of course it should. As Jeffrey Toobin noted the other day, Bybee was confirmed before his torture memos became public (though there were serious questions about his White House work at the time), and he "has never answered questions about them, has never had to defend his conduct, has never endured anywhere near the amount of public scrutiny (and abuse) as Yoo."

And while prosecuting top former Bush administration officials may be a contentious point, Senate consideration of Bybee's fate is quite straightforward. As digby noted, judicial impeachments are "not unprecedented." What's more, dday explains that while removing Bybee from his position would be difficult with at least "34 Republicans in the Senate willing to go on record as objectively pro-torture," Congress "should be compelled to do this anyway."

"The health professionals involved in the CIA program broke the law and shame the bedrock ethical traditions of medicine and psychology," said Frank Donaghue, chief executive of Physicians for Human Rights, an international advocacy group made up of physicians opposed to torture. "All psychologists and physicians found to be involved in the torture of detainees must lose their license and never be allowed to practice again."