Saturday, May 02, 2009

"Bad legal advice given in good faith is not an ethical violation."

Andrew McCarthy explains his opposition to the Obama witch hunts and why he won't help.

Any experienced prosecutor would know there is no criminal case here. And let’s assume you think the lawyers gave bad advice — as many say they do, particularly if they haven’t read the memos. Bad legal advice given in good faith is not an ethical violation. There’s not a lawyer in America who hasn’t given bad legal advice at some point — certainly not in the government. It is disgraceful to target these lawyers for this kind of persecution, to force them to retain counsel to defend their wartime service to the country, and to put them in fear of criminal, professional, and financial repercussions. It should be offensive to all people of good will, regardless of their politics or of where they come out on the explosive issue of coercive interrogation. We can arrive at a sound policy, or not, without demonizing our adversaries as crooks and cads.

Many cannot argue in good faith about this issue. Instead, they demonize anyone who supported our techniques and have tried to argue why the lawyers are EEEvilllle.