By Kenneth J. Theisen 
Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has once again gone to court to defend and cover-up the torture conducted by the U.S. government. In its latest move, the Injustice Department requested that the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismiss a lawsuit accusing former DOJ attorney John Yoo of authorizing the illegal detention and torture of Jose Padilla. Yoo wrote legal memorandums that provided “legal cover” for the crimes of the Bush regime.
Padilla was one of the many victims of torture conducted by the Bush regime against prisoners taken in the U.S. war of terror. Padilla was imprisoned in a Navy brig as a terror suspect and denied fundamental human and legal rights for nearly four years. In his lawsuit Padilla describes various forms of torture to which he was subjected, including sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, and stress positions. He says he was incarcerated for lengthy periods in darkness and at other times in blinding light. In addition to threatening him with death, he claims his torturers also threatened to kill his family.
But instead of condemning the crimes of the U.S. government and prosecuting those such as Yoo who were responsible for these crimes, the Obama administration has repeatedly gone to court to dismiss any cases that attempt to hold these Bush regime criminals even liable in civil courts. DOJ lawyers asserted to the appellate court in this case that federal law should not permit liability claims against government attorneys who advise the president on “national security” issues. DOJ claims that such suits pose "the risk of deterring full and frank advice regarding the military’s detention and treatment of those determined to be enemies during an armed conflict."
In other words, attorneys should be able to advise the president that it is okay to violate federal and international laws against torture as long as the “national security” of the imperialist state is at risk. In its legal argument, Obama’s DOJ asserts that "matters of war and national security" are beyond judicial authority. It is almost as if John Yoo never left the Injustice Department or maybe he was cloned by the Obama administration.
Yoo is presently teaching at UC Berkeley law school. But he took a leave from teaching and was employed in DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) from 2001 to 2003. While at the OLC he authored the infamous 2002 torture memo that claimed abusive treatment of prisoners amounts to torture only if it causes the same level of pain as "organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death." He further asserted that President Bush could legally authorize the torture of enemy combatants taken in the war of terror.
Obama was elected by millions of people who believed that he would change the political direction of the fascist Bush regime. But instead they have seen his Department of Injustice go to court repeatedly to defend the past conduct of the Bush administration, as well as the present illegal conduct of the present administration. Obama, Attorney General Holder, and others in the Obama administration have gone out of their way to cover-up the crimes of the U.S. This has included the suppression of torture photos and going to court to deny prisoners of the U.S. war of terror at Bagram, Afghanistan basic legal rights such as the right of habeas corpus.
DOJ has refused to prosecute Bush regime officials for their various and numerous crimes. DOJ has sought the dismissal of a lawsuit exposing the illegal rendition program and the illegal secret prisons run by the CIA. Now it is fighting for the right of John Yoo to be free from liability for his despicable actions.
Is the above the kind of change many people expected from Obama? Or are the actions of Obama and his minions a continuation of the fascist political trajectory begun over eight years ago? If these actions are not opposed now, it may be too late to oppose them later. The world can’t wait!