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Yoo Fights Back on Torture
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Jul 27, 09 7:13 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that their use came under the president's authority.
Yoo, who has held onto his university job despite protests on campus, faces a number of legal challenges over his time at the Justice Department. A government report is expected to recommend that Yoo be referred to his state bar associations for discipline, and a lawsuit from a detainee claiming Yoo violated his rights has been allowed to proceed. Government lawyers who had been representing Yoo say he will now have private counsel, a move that will spare Justice from having to defend his memos.