Just as an aside, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen any government official express the kind of contempt for Congress as I’ve seen from Addington today. Every response to every question is soaked in pure revulsion. I keep expecting him to spit at the members of the committee after every exchange.
Addington was arrogant [did I mention that earlier?], contemptuous, intimidating. His attitude was, "You dare to question me, you lowly Congressmen? You’re so far beneath me that your questions don’t even deserve answering." But in one way, he was legalistic to a level I have only previously seen in "jailhouse lawyers," criminals who represent themselves in Parole Hearings or retrials. I think my reaction would have been the same if I agreed with everything he said. I can see how he and Cheney hit it off. The same disdainful sarcastic smirks drifted across his face, occasionally reaching full snarl.
Yoo was stammering and I don’t think he answered a single question. He kept referring to some email he got from the Justice Department to explain why he wasn’t answering. Over and over, the Congressmen explains that he couldn’t refuse to answer based on some DoJ email. He had to evoke some priviledge, and name it. He had a hell of a time doing that because there wasn’t any reason not to answer questions. 
"The DoJ told me not too" is not a priviledge. His other main defenses were stammering and blank stares. It was borderline pathetic. I hope his students didn’t watch. A judge in a regular court would have jailed him in a heartbeat for contempt of court [CONTEMPT with a capital "C"]. He refused to answer any hypotheticals about torture, even though his Memos are full of hypotheticals.
What did we learn [other than that they don’t recognize Congressional Oversight]? I cannot think of anything I personally learned. I didn’t learn where he got that bit about torture and organ failure. I didn’t learn if there was any oversight of his work inside the DoJ. I didn’t learn if he was authorized to sign those Memos. He claimed that the memos saved American lives, but later refused to even say if he knew if the Memos were "implemented."
So David Addington was obstructionistic from "on high" and David Yoo was obstructionistic from "below." But, as hard as it is to believe, they were even less forthcoming that Alberto Gonzales – which I would have thought impossible before today. But there was an additional twist. They weren’t just covering their asses or being defensive, they were expressing an active hostility towards the Congress. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t American. And it wasn’t acceptable. And like his pal Cheney, Addington made a show of power in the service of nothing that mattered except his own self aggrandizement.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.