An appeals court said Wednesday a former senior Department of Justice lawyer in the George W. Bush administration who wrote the so-called "torture memos" authorizing harsh treatment of suspected terrorists is protected from lawsuits.
President Obama's lawless Jan. 4 installation of a new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau goes to the heart of his loose interpretation of our Constitution. Mr. Obama's actions show he believes checks and balance apply only to the other branches of government, not to him.
The Justice Department is defending the legality of President Obama's recent recess appointment of a national consumer watchdog and other officials from criticism by Republicans.
The Justice Department reversed course Thursday and backed President Obama's move last week to use his recess appointment power to install four top officials.
The more Americans learn about the White House rationale for the targeted killing of an American citizen, the more ominous it sounds.
The Black Panther voter-intimidation scandal is approaching the boiling point on four different burners. Evidence grows that the Justice Department is using illegitimate means to keep a lid on legitimate investigations. Because his department can't be trusted to police itself, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. needs to appoint a special counsel.
So much of what passes for news — "the ordeal of Paris Hilton," for example — will never make the history books of this era. But a May 10 letter from Gen. David Petraeus — to "Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen" in his Multi-National Force in Iraq — merits far more attention than it has received during the 24-hour news cycle.
