Hatch opposes calls for judge's impeachment

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, says that impeaching federal appeals-court judge Jay Bybee — a Brigham Young University law graduate who wrote memos allowing harsh interrogation of suspected terrorists — would be destructive and merely an attempt by Democrats to "punish differences of opinion."

Hatch was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2003 when Bybee was confirmed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California.

Unknown at that time was that Bybee wrote memos — released last week — as a Bush administration lawyer that authorized the CIA to waterboard detainees in Guantanamo Bay, slam them into a wall, hit them, lock them in small boxes with insects and deprive them of sleep for up to 11 days.

Groups ranging from the New York Times to Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a House Judiciary subcommittee chairman, have called for Bybee's impeachment, and foreign officials from Great Britain and Spain have also called for criminal punishment or investigations.

In response to questions from the Deseret News, Hatch released a statement Tuesday saying, "Any attempt to impeach Judge Bybee would be fundamentally wrong. It would distort and misuse impeachment under the Constitution, and it would further a very destructive and poisonous trend of seeking to criminalize or otherwise punish differences of opinion."

He added, "That trend occurs in other political systems elsewhere in the world but has no place in America."

Hatch also told the Huffington Post on Tuesday that "Bybee's one of the most honorable people you'll ever meet."

He added, "He is a qualified and very honorable federal judge who was one of the supervisors down there and who, I guess, signed off on some of the opinions over which there's controversy both ways. Some think those opinions were accurate and responsible. Of course, the other side believes they were not."

Hatch was also quoted by the Huffington Post saying, "Frankly, I do believe that the memoranda could have been written differently, but for the most part, the memoranda were accurate. I think it's blown out of proportion through politics, and I think that's one reason the Obama administration and the attorney general have elected not to prosecute anybody.

"These decision were made in good faith at a time when our country was in dire jeopardy and could have had even more hateful catastrophes than we had," Hatch said.

Hatch added that he believes Democrats are looking to score political points by tarnishing Bybee.

"I think those who want to make a big stink out of this are playing politics at every turn and it's ridiculous. I do not want to have our people who protect us intimidated and afraid to stand up and protect us when the time comes," he told the Huffington Post.

Hatch added, "It's very offensive when people try to score political points against honorable public servants who were trying to do their best."

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