New York Times on Professionalism in the Executive Branch
ASP Senior Fellow Dr. Bernard I. Finel recently penned an op-ed about the restoration of professionalism in the executive branch after the administration of George W. Bush, where aides were permitted to dispense advice that led to illegal acts, and subsequently have not been held accountable for their actions.
From Bernard’s piece:
In the last administration, lawyers like Alberto Gonzalez, John Yoo and Jay Bybee signed off on badly argued legal briefs, providing the White House with cover for clearly illegal acts. While Gonzalez now finds himself out of work, Yoo remains a tenured professor and frequent public speaker, and Bybee is a federal judge on the 9th Circuit…
An under-discussed reason to consider a truth commission to investigate the conduct of the Bush administration would be to shed light on the failure of some senior officials to live up to their ethical and legal responsibilities as lawyers, officers and public servants.
Similar sentiments on an investigation into aides that played a part in the commission of illegal acts were expressed by the New York Times editorial board this week:
The three primary authors of the torture memos were John Yoo, Jay S. Bybee and Steven G. Bradbury…it is hard to imagine any bar association allowing them to go on practicing law.
Mr. Bybee’s case is the worst…President Bush rewarded Mr. Bybee with a lifetime position on a federal appeals court. The memos he wrote or signed made it clear that he was not fit to make judgments about the law and the Constitution. Congress should remove him…
There can be no excuse or justification for the abuses — or the abuse of the law. But telling the truth about what happened is the best way to ensure that it never happens again.
In short, a truth commission would allow for a better and fuller understanding of the actual abuses committed by members of the Bush administration, and the investigation and subsequent report would help ensure that similar abuses are not committed by presidential aides in future administrations.
