No Charges Against Bush Lawyers Over Torture Memos?

A source tells the Associated Press tonight that the Justice Department won’t recommend criminal charges against former Bush administration attorneys who drafted secret memos giving the legal go-ahead for harsh interrogations of terror suspects. An initial draft ethics report, which is still subject to revisions and approval from Attorney General Eric Holder, recommends two of the attorneys—Jay Bybee and John Yoo—be referred to state bar associations for possible disciplinary actions. The report made no recommendations about Steven Bradbury, a third Bush administration attorney involved in drafting the memos, the AP reports. Neither Bybee, who is now a federal Appeals Court judge in California, or Yoo, now a law professor in California, would comment. This comes upon word from the Washington Post that attorneys for the men has pressed other former Bush administration officials to lobby the Justice Department in recent days to “soften” the report. The Bush attorneys aren't out of the woods yet. Holder has the right to overrule the recommendation and pursue his own charges, if he wants, and Congress can jump into the fray, too.