Yep, he's gone all Judge Dredd on us.
As noted by David Kurtz on TPM:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
That I learned of thanks to DDay on Hullabaloo:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/...
Basically, Mukasey has asserted that as long as someone in the justice department says something isn't illegal before it's done, the people who then proceed to do it cannot be breaking the law.
So, to be clear, Congress no longer makes the laws.
As well, we, as citizens, no longer have the right to know what the laws are, because the justice department can adjust them with classified opinions.
More detail in the body.
(You really should be reading it somewhere else, but I'll try to get a money quote)
Delahunt: Let's concede that waterboarding is in contravention of international obligation. If opinion rendered that amounted to malpractice, whoever employed that technique, simply by relying on that opinion would be legally barred from criminal investigation.
MM: If you're talking about legal mistake, there is an inquiry regarding whether properly rendered opinions or didn't. But yes, that bars the person who relied on that opinion from being investigated.
Delahunt: I find that a new legal doctrine. The law is the law.
This is madness, and must be stopped. If Clinton and Obama want to be worthy of all that money that is pouring in, they had better start bringing attention to this outrage.