Senate wants Bybee to testify

The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants the main author of the now famous interrogation memos to testify.

Jay Bybee, now a federal judge for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, authored a number of memos while the head of the Office of Legal Counsel justifying the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding.

Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported the Bybee had told friends that he was not proud of his work. But Bybee told the NY Times today that he had no regrets.

Now Senator Pat Leahy wants Bybee to testify in public to set the record straight.

“By coming forward and testifying before the Committee, you will have the opportunity to amplify or correct these accounts, and explain your role and your views,” Leahy wrote in a letter to Bybee.

One subject of the hearing, Leahy suggested, would be whether Bybee was unduly influenced by the White House.

“There is significant concern about the legal advice provided by OLC while you were in charge,
how that advice came to be generated, the considerations that went into it, and the role played by
the White House,” Leahy wrote.

The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Review is currently investigating the work of Bybee and others who worked on the memos.

Liberals are attempting to impeach Bybee from his judgeship. A number of Democratic senators, including Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) had suggested they’re open to impeachment. Leahy has already called for Bybee to resign.