It's legal because he said it was?

Clipped from www.democracynow.org

MATT LAUER: Why is waterboarding legal, in your opinion? GEORGE W. BUSH: Because the lawyers said it was legal, said it did not fall within the Anti-Torture Act. I’m not a lawyer. And—but you got to trust the judgment of people around you. And I do. MATT LAUER: You say it’s legal, and the lawyers told me. GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah. MATT LAUER: Critics say that you got the Justice Department to give you the legal guidance and the legal memos that you wanted. GEORGE W. BUSH: Well— MATT LAUER: Tom Kean, who was the former Republican co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, said they got legal opinions they wanted from their own people. GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, he obviously doesn’t know. I hope Mr. Kean reads the book. That’s why I’ve written the book. He can—they can draw whatever conclusion they want. MATT LAUER: If it’s legal, President Bush, then if an American is taken into custody in a foreign country, not necessarily a uniformed American— GEORGE W. BUSH: Look, I’m not going to debate the issue, Matt. I really— MATT LAUER: I’m just asking. Would it be OK for a foreign country to waterboard an American citizen? GEORGE W. BUSH: It’s—all I ask is that people read the book. And they can reach the same conclusion if they would have made the same decision I made or not. MATT LAUER: You’d make the same decision again today? GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, I would. Read more at www.democracynow.org

 

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