Statement from Nan Aron on Senate Hearing Concerning the Recently Released OPR Report

February 26, 2010, Washington, DC—On February 26, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigation into the Office of Legal Counsel memos that provided legal cover for torture.  After five and a half years of investigation, OPR concluded that two lawyers, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, committed professional misconduct in producing certain memos that authorized torture.  A final reviewer downgraded OPR’s conclusions and declined to refer California law professor John Yoo and Judge Jay Bybee of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to state bars for disciplinary review.  

“As Senator Leahy said in the hearing today, the OPR report has gaping holes because the staff could not interview key witnesses outside DOJ like David Addington and could not review hundreds of John Yoo’s destroyed emails,” said Nan Aron, President of Alliance for Justice.  The only witness appearing before the committee today was Gary G. Grindler, the Acting Deputy Attorney General, who testified that he would look further into the recovery of the missing emails.  

“Attorney General Holder should also be asked to determine what happened to the lost emails.  Today’s Senate hearing about the OPR report is the first step in trying to find answers to the many questions that remain regarding the process that led to the writing of the ‘torture memos’.  We expect Congress to continue to demand accountability of the executive branch,” continued Aron.