The news report said he’s hoping to enter law school when he gets out of the military, and I thought, “This guy’s tough enough to make one kick-ass lawyer.”

Bob in HI

Of course, Bradbury’s job was to shut-down the UE/Inherent Powers/Unlimited President Program – on the last day possible – so that Bush would have enjoyed All the Benefits of Unlimited Power for seven years, but Obama would be denied the same powers from Day One.

Mission Accomplished with Bush’s OPR Report, huh?

Balkin’s got good, clear insight, imvho, into Bradbury’s white-washing of Yoo and Bybee, which Bradbury does by ‘disavowing’ the legal reasoning behind Two Claims made by the Cheney/Addington/Yoo Proponents of Presidential Power:

“These two disowned claims lie at the heart of the Cheney/Addington/Yoo theory of presidential power– namely, that when the president acts as commander in chief Congress may not restrict in any way his military decisionmaking, including decisions about detention, interrogation, and surveillance. The President, because he is President, may do whatever he thinks is necessary, even in the domestic context, if he acts for military and national security reasons in his capacity as Commander in Chief. This theory of presidential power argues, in essence, that when the President acts in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, he may make his own rules and cannot be bound by Congressional laws to the contrary. This is a theory of presidential dictatorship.”

So, Bradbury ‘disavows’ Yoo’s reasoning that Bush is Above the Law when acting as the UE, but Bradbury holds harmless anyone who acted Loyally (including Yoo and Bybee, and the Torturers,) in good faith, to the Addington/Bybee/Yoo UE Theory – Blind Loyalty to Bush whose Word was Law – through 2003.

In addition, as I understand it, Bradbury ‘disavows’ Yoo’s reasoning that Bush as CIC has free-rein, domestically and internationally, to violate the basic Constitutional Rights of Citizens to enjoy Protection from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, etc, but Bradbury ‘immunizes’ those who assisted Bush – like Congress and the Telecoms – from future liability.

So, as Bradbury saw it, Bush the UE, without commenting on the Legality of the Cheney/Addington/Yoo Theory, was entitled to exercise Unlimited Power during his Administration – and All of Bush’s Loyal Flunkies were entitled to be *not prosecuted* and/or given immunity from future liability.

To show the ‘distance’ that Bradbury’s OLC put between reliance on the Cheney/Addington/Yoo Theory, and his new-found reliance on the Rule of Law – Bradbury assures US that the Addington/Bybee/Yoo UE Theory of Presidential Power was not given credence in OLC after 2003.

However, if that is so, then how does Bradbury explain the Hospital Visit and the March 11th, 2004 Re-Certification of the President’s Program – when Bush allegedly declared himself the UE, all over again?

You better hope he resigns though, because I am not sure that Harry Reid, a Mormon, would encourage impeachment in the Senate. In fact, you can bet he would discourage it strongly. I cannot believe there will be sufficient political will for impeachment of Bybee.

Okay. Now I’m seeing some potential bipartisanship!

Frank Rich and Rachel were just discussing this. Is he okay/has he been around?