Torture Convictions Would Be a Long Shot

Those calling for Bush administration prosecutions on torture-related grounds may have their way—but whether those in question can actually be convicted is a whole other kettle of fish, Jeffrey Rosen writes in New York. Much of the case would likely hinge on whether authorities believed their own claims in making a case for waterboarding. And appointing a special prosecutor could create headaches for the Justice Department.

“Whatever people say about Cheney, few people think he didn’t believe in his own arguments,” says a law scholar. And the ex-VP would have a number of protection mechanisms on his side, such as withholding executive records and the argument that Congress authorized administration moves. Meanwhile, the “possibilities for clashes between Justice and a special prosecutor are endlessly multiplied,” Rosen writes. Still, public pressure could drive AG Eric Holder to appoint one.

(More Bush administration stories.)