Convicted terrorist Jose Padilla is suing former White House lawyer John Yoo for drafting the “torture memos” that led to his alleged torture after a federal judge refused to dismiss the case on Friday. A legal adviser to former president Bush, Yoo wrote the now-infamous memos that redefined torture as treatment leading to "organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death," and advised the government to use “any means necessary” to hold terror suspects. Padilla was imprisoned for four years on a Navy brig, where he said he was illegally detained and tortured. He is appealing his 2007 conviction of terrorism and is currently serving 17 years for the crime. The federal judge, a Bush appointee, wrote that Padilla could be able to prove that Yoo deprived his constitutional rights by writing the memos. This marks the first time a government lawyer could be held liable for detainee abuse.
