ProPublica Posts the Legal Memos Behind Bush's War on Terror

by John Stauber — January 28, 2009 - 9:46am

ProPublica notes that "the Bush administration's 'war on terror' -- including its controversial policies on detentions, interrogations and warrantless wiretapping -- were all underpinned by legal memoranda. While some of those memos have been released ... the former administration chose to keep many others secret, citing security and confidentiality concerns. The decision to release them now lies with President Obama. To help inform the debate -- and inject an extra dose of accountability -- we're posting a list of the relevant memos, both public and secret." Memo authors include John C. Yoo, Steven G. Bradbury, Jay Bybee, James B. Comey, Robert J. Delahunty, Jack Goldsmith, James Ho, Daniel Levin, Patrick Philbin, the legal architects (and some critics) of the Bush Administration's use of torture and detention policies now under review or reversal by the Obama Administration.