It is amusing to see media outlets display shock over the Obama Justice Department’s announcement regarding an appointment of a prosecutor to probe CIA interrogation tactics. Back in 2008, I blogged at Newsbusters that Mr. Obama told a radio interviewer in 2007 that his Attorney General would investigate Bush executive orders. Naked Emperor News first uncovered the the KJFK radio interview between then Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and host Christiane Brown. Here’s an excerpt(emphasis is mine:)
BROWN: And when you are… if you were to be elected president of the United States, Senator Obama, do you feel that we need to look back if the investigations have been done on this administration find out what happened, because there’s a fear there’s a dangerous precedent being set… the CIA interrogation tapes missing, warrant-less wire tapping, all of these are violations of the Constitution, and people can be forgiven for thinking that it seems like we only enforce the Constitution when its politically expedient.
OBAMA: Well one of things that I’ve said, and I’ve said this repeatedly publicly, since I taught constitutional law for ten years is that…one of my first acts as president is going to be call in my new attorney general to review every single executive order that’s been issued… to overturn those that are undermining the Constitution, undermining our civil liberties, that are promoting this cockamamie theory of Unitary government, that says that somehow the executive branch does not need to obey the Constitution…uhh
BROWN: But, but Senator Obama forgive me…
OBAMA: Let, let me finish…and during that process of review, if it’s determined that laws have been broken, then obviously accountability would be part of my Attorney General’s job.
BROWN: Why, Senator, would it energize them if crimes were revealed? I think it would weaken the Republican Party.
OBAMA: You are assuming that we are not currently trying our best to document and investigate problems that are out there.
Why is Mr. Obama all of a sudden switching gears from health care to this issue? Could it be that he was saving this little nugget for a time he found himself and his agenda sinking in the polls? This is quite the gamble, as the American people are outraged over the release of the Lockerbie bomber and the first thing on their minds is how to pay the bills not CIA interrogators facing down dangerous terrorists immediately after 9/11.
