05/14/12 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his article “Yoo, Latif, and the Rise of Secret Justice;” the Ninth Circuit Court’s legally indefensible ruling that John Yoo is immune to Jose Padilla’s torture lawsuit because, at the time, torture was a confused legal issue; “torture memo” co-author Jay Bybee’s convenient new gig as a Ninth Circuit Court judge; why Italian prosecutors wish John Yoo would resume...

05/02/12 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses former #3 CIA boss Jose Rodriguez’s defense of torture and the destruction of interrogation videos (that he ordered); Rodriguez’s claim that the tapes were shredded to protect CIA agents from Al Qaeda retribution, not to coverup criminal acts; how the Department of Justice erodes the rule of law by failing to prosecute former officials bragging about their crimes on...

03/06/12 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses Attorney General Eric Holder’s unpersuasive speech defending extrajudicial assassination; the new (government-friendly) definitions of “due process,” “imminent threat,” and “battlefield;” the minimal US effort in arresting and trying terrorism suspects living abroad; the geographical limitations of drone strikes (because collateral damage of Europeans is unthinkable,...

01/20/12 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his article “Spanish Court Resumes Gitmo Prosecution;” the many other foreign courts, frustrated with the US’s refusal to act, restarting their own torture prosecutions; uncertainty of how high up the chain of command indictments will go, and whether the White House OLC lawyers enabling torture will be targeted; how WikiLeaks got the ball rolling again by exposing...

12/02/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the provisions within the National Defense Authorization Act allowing Americans to be detained by the military indefinitely, without trial; how democratic societies are destroyed by supposedly temporary or emergency “exceptions” to the rule of law; Congress’s tough-guy push for a militarized criminal justice system, even though the military opposes the idea...

10/19/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the double standard wherein the US can assist in assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists but the very idea of reciprocity (via a dubious plot) is beyond the pale; the skeptical accounts of the Iranian assassination “plot” in the European press, especially compared to the credulous US media; the hardliners in Congress pushing for mandatory military custody...

09/26/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his recent articles “Injudicious Judge Dismisses Civil Libertarians” and “Brennan Does Yemen;” why rising tensions in Pakistan may result in US forces being kicked out – if they will leave; how the AUMF is used to justify warfare anywhere, with nearly anyone; how the CIA transformed from a civilian intelligence gathering/analyzing agency into yet another...

09/07/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses how the “Cheney doctrine” continues to dominate US policy ten years after 9/11; Cheney’s aggressive pro-torture propaganda book tour, meant to be a preemptive strike against his possible prosecution; why many Americans trust the government to torture and kill wisely and judiciously; and the double standard of US torture prosecutions, whereby the son of...

08/11/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his article “A Setback for Obama’s War on Whistleblowers” and the unusual judicial check on Executive power; how the DOJ persecutes whistleblowers when they can’t be prosecuted; the Supreme Court decision that gives blanket immunity to prosecutorial misconduct; the two torture lawsuits progressing against Donald Rumsfeld because apparently government...

07/06/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his confidence in his Guantanamo “Suicides” expose in Harpers magazine despite a barrage of criticism; the Department of Justice giving a wink and a nod at the Bush torture program; how John Durham’s investigation of CIA torture was hamstrung by limitations imposed by the Obama administration; the CIA’s heavy redaction (to save face, not protect national...

05/12/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses winning the National Magazine Award for Reporting for his article “The Guantanamo “suicides”: A Camp Delta sergeant blows the whistle;” the still-developing story, including more details on the infamous “Camp No”; why torture still isn’t justified and didn’t help find bin Laden (according to John McCain); the scope and severity of the torture programs under...

03/22/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the “Two New OLC Opinions on Warrantless Surveillance;” the mysterious “program” of unspecified purpose related to NSA data mining; the (sometimes) conflicting legal opinions of OLC lawyers John Yoo and Jack Goldsmith; the NSA’s powerful surveillance algorithms; the differing Fourth Amendment protections for foreign and domestic communications; John Yoo’s...

03/08/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the Quantico brig’s confiscation of Bradley Manning’s underwear and flip flops (and the rest of his clothes), supposedly to prevent his suicide; why this is punitive treatment for Manning – a model prisoner who has been cleared by the brig psychiatrist as non-suicidal; the theoretical possibility of prosecuting Manning’s jailers; how the mistreatment of...

01/21/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the one year anniversary of Obama’s broken promise to close Guantanamo; the politicization of terrorism prosecutions, normally the purview of professional prosecutors and not Congress; authorization in the Army Field Manual Appendix M for subjecting prisoners to long-term sensory deprivation; recent court rulings that grant high government officials...

12/08/10 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper's magazine, discusses the dismissal of the CCR/ACLU lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's authority to order the targeted killing of US citizen Anwar Al-Aulaqi; the legal paradox that requires the government to obtain a warrant for wiretapping but allows summary execution with no judicial oversight; why the government will probably make limited use of extrajudicial...