On January 30, we reported that a draft Justice Department assessment cleared John Yoo and Jay Bybee of professional misconduct in connection with their authorship of memos, written in the shadow of the 9-11 mass murder attacks, which argued that harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, were permissible to obtain intelligence from captured terrorists.

The draft assessment has become final and was issued today by the Justice Department.  The Reuters report begins:

WASHINGTON - Two Bush administration lawyers who authorized harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects used poor judgment but will not face punishment, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday in summarizing a lengthy ethics report.

 

The department's Office of Professional Responsibility had originally found that the lawyers, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, had engaged in professional misconduct, according to a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee leaders.

 

The harsh techniques they authorized included waterboarding of terrorism suspects as the Bush administration tried to elicit intelligence after the September 11, 2001, attacks for capturing or killing anti-American al Qaeda militants.