Author of Torture Memos Says He Was Just Doing His Job

The government lawyer who wrote memos authorizing the Bush administration to engage in torture and warrantless surveillance says he was just doing his job, according to a recent interview.

Asked by The New York Times if he regretted writing the torture memos, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo replied, “No, I had to write them. It was my job. As a lawyer, I had a client. The client needed a legal question answered.”

Yoo, whose memos offered the government legal justification for waterboarding prisoners and other actions, said his client was former President George W. Bush and the U.S. government as a whole. The Times asked whether it was the case that the U.S. people were his client, and not the president. Yoo replied, “If there’s a conflict between the president and the Congress, then you have to pick one or the other.”

What about your moral and ethical obligations, Johnny (ever hear of the Nuremberg trials)? I guess you also conveniently forgot that the oath of office you took said that your primary obligation was to uphold the constitution-- not authorize war crimes.