Two new excellent accounts about why the torture program won’t be revived

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November 28, 2016

I strongly recommend this post by Jack Goldsmith and this article by Matt Apuzzo and James Risen, following up on this excellent Just Security post by Alex Whiting. 

Featured Articles

Indictment of Assange for Espionage Directly Threatens Press Freedoms

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Correcting Course: Avoiding the Collision Between Humanitarian Action and Counterterrorism

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In Legislation to Reduce Global Violence, Can U.S. Move Beyond a Focus on “Extremism”?

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When Is a “Literally True” Statement False and a Crime

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EU Parliamentary Elections: A Tipping Point for Modern Europe?

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The Three-Level Game in the White House Effort to Block McGahn’s Testimony

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New Legislation Offers Opportunity to Address 2001 Authorization for Use of Force, Amid Fears of War with Iran

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Bill Barr’s Extreme Views on War Powers Mean Congress’s Window to Stop War with Iran is Now

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Sticking It To Yourself: Preemptive Pardons for Battlefield Crimes Undercut Military Justice and Military Effectiveness

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McGahn’s Chief of Staff, Annie Donaldson May Be Congress’ Prized Witness

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ICC Prosecutor Signals Important Strategy Shift in New Policy Document

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Trump’s Golan Policy and Its Threat to the Post-War International Legal Order

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What Congress Should Ask Robert Mueller When He Testifies

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The Nixon Impeachment—A Blueprint for Today

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Dispatch: What a U.S.-Iran War Would Mean for Iraqis

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Why Robert Mueller Is Right that the Obstruction Statutes Apply to the President

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Lesson from Nixon: With Today’s Facts, Impeaching Trump Won’t Work

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The Precedent for Impeachment: Nixon, Not Clinton

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An Open Memo: Comparison of Clinton Impeachment, Nixon Impeachment and Trump Pre-Impeachment

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All the President’s Lawyers: A Chart of Misconduct and Possible Crimes Revealed by Mueller Report

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Amid Protest Plans, South Sudan Peace Deal Teeters After Leaders Miss Deadline

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Enforcing Congressional Subpoenas: A Modest Proposal

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What Questions Is the Pentagon Avoiding?

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The Iran Nuclear Deal After Rouhani’s Announcement

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“No Sideshow” – The ‘Protection of Civilians’ Agenda Turns 20

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Q&A on House-Justice Dept Showdown Over Release of Unredacted Mueller Report and Contempt of Congress

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Why the Arms Trade Treaty Matters – and Why It Matters That the US Is Walking Away

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Don’t Get Lured by False Question of Whether Mueller Got “Played” by Barr

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The Mazars USA Subpoena as an Existential Threat to President Trump

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The Failures of the Mueller Report’s Campaign Finance Analysis

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The Pentagon’s 2018 Civilian Casualties Report: What’s In It and What’s Next

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Amid the Nadler-Barr Standoff: Some History of Struggles Over Hearing Processes

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Barr and Congress: Is the Focus on Criminality Too Narrow?–Five Experts Weigh In

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Barr to Senate: President is Not Immune from Prosecutor Declaration of Indictable Offense

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What Congress Should Ask Bill Barr When He Testifies

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Split Over Compelled Decryption Deepens With Massachusetts Case

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Guide to the Mueller Report’s Findings on “Collusion”

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Trump Administration’s New Cuba Policy Threatens Discord With U.S. Allies

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Gutting the Substance of a Security Council Resolution on Sexual Violence

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A Caution on Congressional Subpoenas and “Constitutional Crisis”

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New DoD Policy on Amends Needs to Address Transparency Gap

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Trump Endorses U.S. Citizen-Turned Libyan Warlord, Despite Video Evidence of Haftar’s Ordering War Crimes

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Serb ‘Auxiliary Force’ Escalates Threats to Bosnia’s Stability

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To Battle Russian Disinformation, Ukraine Mimics … Russia

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Climate Change: Our Greatest National Security Threat?

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Al-Nashiri III: A No Good, Very Bad Day for U.S. Military Commissions

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Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo in 1989

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The ICC’s Afghanistan Decision: Bending to U.S. or Focusing Court on Successful Investigations?

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Assange Indictment Is Shot Across the Bow of Press Freedom

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Transparency on Civilian Harm in Somalia Matters – Not Just to Americans

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BREAKING: Sri Lankan Presidential Hopeful Sued in Federal Court for Human Rights Violations

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The Pentagon Wants to Streamline Security Clearances by Using AI. That’s a Dangerous Idea.

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The Limited War Powers Precedent of the Korean “Police Action”

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The Government’s Own Documents Show that Prepublication Review is Broken

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An Insider’s View of the Life-Cycle of Self-Defense Reports by U.N. Member States

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How Barr May Interpret What It Means to Withhold “Grand Jury Information”

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The Khashoggi Killing at Six Months: How Congress Should Move Forward

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The Missing Piece of the Mueller Investigation

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The Hidden Issue in Huawei’s Suit Against the United States

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Less Transparency Won’t Fix a Lack of Transparency: A Response to Gen. Dunlap on Civilian Casualty Reporting Requirements

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Legal Explainer: German Court Reins in Support for U.S. Drone Strikes

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Next Step in Disinformation: How a Dating App Becomes a Weapon

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Breaking the Silence on Civilian Casualties from U.S. Air Strikes in Somalia

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A Legislative Shot at Internet of Things Security

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Body Counts Are Terrible Way for the Public to Assess US Counter-Terrorism Operations

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What Comes Next: After Supreme Court Reduced Obstacles to Suing International Organizations

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Reflecting on the Civilian Casualty Executive Order: What Was Lost and What Can Now Be Gained

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The US-Philippines Defense Treaty and the Pompeo Doctrine on South China Sea

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Citizenship-Stripping and ISIS Members: The Recent UK Experience

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I Helped Write the Exec Order on Public Reporting of Lethal Operations. Here’s What Trump Has Undone.

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Report of the Independent UN Commission of Inquiry on Gaza Strip – An Initial Evaluation of a Problematic Report

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Can Trump Organization Executives Be Prosecuted for Money Laundering?

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BREAKING: United States Supports Germany’s International Arrest Warrant for Accused Syrian War Criminal

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The Seven Step Program for Fighting Disinformation

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Trump’s Invoking Obama Signing Statement as Reason Not to Report to Congress on Khashoggi Murder: A Roundup of Expert Views

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About that Trial Balloon on Using 9/11 AUMF to Authorize Strikes on Iran

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Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Does the McConnell amendment provide a justification for military operations against Iran?

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Human Rights, Deprivation of Life and National Security: Q&A with Christof Heyns and Yuval Shany on General Comment 36

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Saudi Coalition “Admission” of Error in Bombing Cholera Treatment Center Implicates the United States

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A Dangerous Bet on Recognition in Venezuela

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Weapons of Mass Consumerism: Why China Wants Your Personal Information

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Executive Agreements: International Lawmaking Without Accountability?

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Annotation of the Pentagon Report to Congress on Detainee Abuse by U.S. Partners in Yemen

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A Caution to Pentagon Officials Asked to Obligate “National Emergency” Funds

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Terrorists and the Southern Border: Myth and Reality

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Ruminations on RICO and Asset Forfeiture in the Trump Business Empire

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Please Support Just Security with a Tax-Deductible Donation

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Trump’s Bookkeeper: How Prosecutors Could Easily Prove Tax Crimes for Hush Money Reimbursements

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10 Ways the U.S. Can Curb Interpol Abuses

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No Clean Hands: Reaction and Counter-Reaction in the Iranian-Saudi Proxy War in Yemen

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Birthright Citizenship for Children of Unlawful U.S. Immigrants Remains an Open Question

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Prosecuting Wikileaks, Protecting Press Freedoms: Drawing the Line at Knowing Collaboration with a Foreign Intelligence Agency

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Need for Change to Protect Children in Armed Conflict

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Accountability Fatigue: A Human Rights Law Problem for Armed Forces?

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Annotation of Sec. Pompeo’s Certification of Yemen War: Civilian Casualties and Saudi-Led Coalition

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An Explainer: Senate’s Letter on Khashoggi and the Global Magnitsky Act

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The Technicolor Zone of Cyberspace, Part 2

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About the Author(s)

Marty Lederman

Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He was Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Office of Legal Counsel from 2009-2010, and Attorney Advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel from 1994-2002. You can follow him on Twitter (@marty_lederman).