Torture Lawyer Flees Berkeley Amid Protests

(NEWSER) - If ex-Justice Department hand John Yoo thought he could fade into obscurity after writing infamous memos justifying the government’s use of torture and warrantless wiretapping, he was wrong. An Australian comedian crashed his class at Chapman University School of Law in California last week, dressed up like a detainee from the Abu Ghraib photos, Wired reports. More»

Newly released docs show ex-deputy AG's 'depraved criminality'

(NEWSER) - John Yoo, who as deputy AG wrote a crucial memo justifying torture, is a war criminal, Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald bluntly argues: Newly released documents reveal "a government official who, in concert with other government officials, set out to enable a brutal and systematic torture regime, and did so." What's more, Greenwald writes, "the underlying theories of omnipotent executive power remain largely in place." More»

Jose Padilla can't sue John Yoo, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules

(NEWSER) - Convicted terrorist Jose Padilla can't sue the Bush administration lawyer who helped craft the legal justification for torturing him—nor can any American citizen in the same predicament, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. Padilla, an American citizen dubbed an "enemy combatant" in 2002, has been trying to sue John Yoo, the UC Berkeley professor who wrote the infamous " torture memo " advising the Bush administration that it had broad powers in detaining and interrogating terrorists, the LA Times reports. More»

Activists win concessions after 7 hours on ledge

(NEWSER) - A tense day of protests against massive budget cuts at UC Berkeley ended with protesters claiming victory. Eight activists who spent seven hours chained together on a fourth-floor ledge as riot police faced off with protesters below came down after reaching an agreement with campus officials, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. As part of the arrangement, university officials have agreed not to punish the students involved and to drop charges against several other protesters arrested over the last year. Officials haven't budged, however, on cuts to the university system. More»

Bybee says agency exceeded guidelines

(NEWSER) - The Bush administration lawyer who gave legal cover to the CIA to use waterboarding and other brutal tactics is throwing the agency under the bus. Jay Bybee, who co-wrote the so-called torture memos, told a House panel that the CIA went way beyond what the Justice Department sanctioned, reports the Los Angeles Times . For example, he said the memos stipulated that waterboarding should not be used in "substantial repetitions," but CIA contractors subjected one detainee to it 183 times. More»