It's official: The president of the United States and his aides are above the law | Philly | 11/17/2008

It's official: The president of the United States and his aides are above the law | Philly | 11/17/2008: "Barack Obama's incoming administration is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush presidency. Obama, who has criticized the use of torture, is being urged by some constitutional scholars and human rights groups to investigate possible war crimes by the Bush administration.

Two Obama advisers said there's little — if any — chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage.

Here's the case for what Obama is reportedly doing:

Robert Litt, a former top Clinton administration Justice Department prosecutor, said Obama should focus on moving forward with anti-torture policy instead of looking back.

'Both for policy and political reasons, it would not be beneficial to spend a lot of time hauling people up before Congress or before grand juries and going over what went on,' Litt said at a Brookings Institution discussion about Obama's legal policy. 'To as great of an extent we can say, the last eight years are over, now we can move forward — that would be beneficial both to the country and the president, politically.""

rest: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Its_official_The_president_of_the_United_States_and_his_aides_are_above_the_law.html