Another Watergate?

There is a very interesting article here:

As I understand it, the main thrusts of the argument are. Rumsfeld signed a letter, the so called Haynes memo, (Jim Haynes was the Defemse depts lawyer) in November 2002 that permitted 15/18 types of physical coercion.
John Yoo and Jay Bybee of the justice department's legal counsel wrote a letter saying that anything that is short of the pain equivalent experienced in relation to extreme organ damage is not torture. Douglas Feith, no 3 at the Pentagon, said the Geneva conventions did not apply to Guantanamo; and the president signed an order to that effect. Even article 3, which gives basic rights to prisoners who are not uniformed prisoner's of war, did not apply because "this was not a war of national character," said Feith.

In the wake of the Abu Ghraib revelations, the Justice Department was called upon to defend itself.
In June 2004 Gonzales, the attorney general, said that the Yoo memo was just stargazing and never made it into policy. "They were exploring the limits of the legal landscape. The memo did not represent the policy the president adopted," Gonzales said. His colleague said that general Delaney, chief of Guantanamo, made a request for stronger types of interrogation against suspect Al Qahtani because the anniversary of 911 was approaching and a spike in attacks was feared. Rumsfeld's approval was in response to this request, Gonzales said. A "tightly spaced" legal document prepared by a senior legal official at Guantanamo was the only legal memo cited by Gonzales as bearing on the aggressive investigations.

Philippe Sands's investigations find a different truth.
In late September 2002 a team of senior lawyers, Gonzales, Haynes and others descended on Guantanamo; Beaver (the legal official) said they told her "Do whatever needs to be done". This was before she had prepared her legal memo that formed the plank of Delaney's request. Earlier, in August 2002, George Tenet had sought legal advice on interrogation of prisoners picked up in Pakistan - that was the Yoo memo. Everyone senior whom Sands spoke to believes that, when the request came from Guantanamo to torture prisoners, Haynes had consulted the Justice Department and the memo. Also "Haynes and Bybee" were joined at the hip.

The rule lasted a year; it was withdrawn after a representation by the chief lawyer for the Navy. The FBI and naval intelligence had always opposed coercive interrogation. The final reckoning came in 2006 when the Supreme court struck down the idea that Guantanmo prisoners were not covered by Geneva. In his opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy, joining the majority, pointedly observed that “violations of Common Article 3 are considered ‘war crimes.’ ” A friend of Haynes having lunch with him that day when the news arrived describe him going completely pale.

In October 2006, Bush signed the commissions act that provided immunity against lawsuits for misconduct in the interrogation of aliens 2001 - 29005. Unfortunately, the law applies in the US. And with the Pinochet precedent in mind, one European judge Sands spoke to said the lawyers involved would have to be more cautious about international travel. One day they may face a tap on the shoulder.