Saturday, April 25, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.
The media are doing a good job of making another mountain out of another molehill. This time it has to do with the “torture” memos.
Here is the simple truth: President Barack Obama should not, and legally cannot, decide to prosecute or not prosecute anyone for using torture on prisoners. It is not within the president’s constitutional duties or powers to decide whether legal action will or will not be pursued. That decision is reserved for the Justice Department (that is, the U.S. attorney general) and/or Congress.
If President Obama were to attempt to make a decision on whether to prosecute anyone, he would be violating the Constitution. He exercised his power as president to authorize the release of the memos. That is the extent of his power in the matter.
So let the speculation about a “change in policy” or a “flip flop” end now. Congress and the attorney general have the ball in their court now, and they will make the decision, not the president.
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