Keep on hoping for a special prosecutor. Here are the developments of the day:

Obama admin opposes Valerie Wilson's lawsuit

Amen.

At least that's what Michael Isikoff reported on Rachel Maddow today.  Apparently he told the left wing that prosecution would be a "distraction".

That's right.  Prosecuting violent crimes is a "distraction".  God knows we can't be distracted from pursuing watered down health care and sops to Wall Street.

It's not just that he didn't want to pursue it himself.  He said he didn't want Justice pursuing it.  It's certainly not the kind of strength and courage in restoring America from the fascists that I was hoping for, anyway...

Salon gives a list of 13 Bush administration officials who authorized and implemented the torture program.  These 13 should be the target of prosecution since they have no legal cover from the OLC memos.

1)Dick Cheney
2)David Addington
3)Alberto Gonzales
4)James Mitchell
5)George Tenet
6)Condoleeza Rice
7)John Yoo
8)Jay Bybee
9)William Haynes
10)Donald Rumsfeld
11)John Rizzo
12)Steven Bradbury
13)George W. Bush

13 key people in the Bush administration cannot claim they relied on the memos from the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel. Some of the 13 manipulated the federal bureaucracy and the legal process to "preauthorize" torture in the days after 9/11. Others helped implement torture, and still others helped write the memos that provided the Bush administration with a legal fig leaf after torture had already begun.

The Torture 13 exploited the federal bureaucracy to establish a torture regime in two ways. First, they based the enhanced interrogation techniques on techniques used in the U.S. military's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) program. The program -- which subjects volunteers from the armed services to simulated hostile capture situations -- trains servicemen and -women to withstand coercion well enough to avoid making false confessions if captured. Two retired SERE psychologists contracted with the government to "reverse-engineer" these techniques to use in detainee interrogations.

The Torture 13 also abused the legal review process in the Department of Justice in order to provide permission for torture. The DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) played a crucial role. OLC provides interpretations on how laws apply to the executive branch. On issues where the law is unclear, like national security, OLC opinions can set the boundary for "legal" activity for executive branch employees. As Jack Goldsmith, OLC head from 2003 to 2004, explains it, "One consequence of [OLC's] power to interpret the law is the power to bestow on government officials what is effectively an advance pardon for actions taken at the edges of vague criminal statutes." OLC has the power, Goldsmith continues, to dispense "get-out-of-jail-free cards." The Torture 13 exploited this power by collaborating on a series of OLC opinions that repeatedly gave U.S. officials such a "get-out-of-jail-free card" for torturing.

Yummy Yummy Mush.

They tortured on the say-so of the White House Counsel that it was OK??

The WH Counsel has no official authority.  The position doesn't require Senate confirmation; the President can appoint anyone he likes to the position.  Any bozo can hold the job.

This would be a big fat joke if it didn't involve torture.

Aw..look at the cute little NOBama thread.  Isn't it pwecious!

There may be consequences to prosecution AT THIS TIME that are greater than the lack of "justice".  I placed faith in Obama and I trust his judgement so far.

I would not want my ounce of flesh if the price is too high.  It looks more like Obama is trying to slowly wind down a very dangerous bomb without letting it blow up.  Everyone is still very emotional about this and one thing we do NOT need when prosecuting this is emotion...this has to be about law or it ends up being poisonously partisan, the proverbial "witch-hunt".  

I know, justice must be done.  But it MIGHT be better served with a 2 year cooling down period.  I trust Obama's MUCH BETTER INFORMED judgement on this for now.