John Yoo

Categories: News | Politics | Iraq War | War On Terror

  • John Yoo is a lawyer and law professor. Yoo served in the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel from 2001 to 2003. During this time, he was responsible for some of the most controversial legal advice and memos of the War on Terror, including expansions of the NSA electronic surveillance program and a legal justification for using "enhanced interrogation techniques" for detainees suspected of terrorist activity. Fast Facts:

    1. Born: 1967
    2. Birthplace: South Korea
    3. Grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    4. Graduated from Harvard University and Yale Law School
    5. Professor at University of California, Berkeley
    6. Legal Council at the United States Justice Department: 2001 to 2003
    7. Critic of President Obama's decision to close Guantanamo BayWall Street Journal: Yoo: Obama Made a Rash Decision on Gitmo (January 29, 2009)

  • Unitary Executive Theory

    1. President has power to interpret international treaties
    2. Congress does not have a direct mandate on presidential war making power
    3. Congress can only influence the president through "power of the purse"
    4. Critics call this theory the "Yoo Doctrine"

  • Bybee Memo

    The infamous Bybee Memo created what has been called a "narrow definition of torture," effectively giving legal backing to a wide range of practices typically considered illegal according to international law.PBS Frontline: Redefining Torture? The memo advised the suspension of Geneva Convention rights for so-called "enemy combatants."Washington Post: Memo Offered Justification for Use of Torture (June 8, 2004) This advice was based on the Unitary Executive Theory, which holds that the President of the United States has the responsibility to interpret international treaties and that the congressional check on presidential war making powers comes exclusively in the form of the "power of the purse."The Raw Story: Scholar says Bush has used obscure doctrine to extend power 95 times (September 23, 2005) The Bybee Memo was declassified on April 2, 2008.

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