McCarthy to AG Holder: “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy, who prosecuted the 1993 World Trade Center bombers, has declined an invitation from the Obama administration to participate in “roundtable” ostensibly meant to help formulate legal standards for treatment of terror detainees. His letter to attorney General Eric Holder has popped up all over the conservative blogosphere, but Flopping Aces sums up the main point of it most succinctly: “Why should any attorney stick their neck out when Democrats are threatening to prosecute them?” 

As noted in the title of this post, McCarthy asks Holder, “Do you think I’m an idiot?” But he does it politely (Yid with Lid calls it “diplomatic”):

[I]n light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government.

A “prudent lawyer would have to hesitate.” Talk about your understatements!  More like, “A lawyer would have to be freakin’ insane to provide an opinion when you have already threatened to prosecute lawyers for providing their opinions.”

Which means, of course, that the lawyers participating are expected to rubber-stamp whatever kid-glove treatment the Obama administration has already decided on:

Nevertheless, it is quite clear—most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany—that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.

McCarthy makes a number of other great points.  You really should read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey makes an excellent point at HotAir: 

If the Obama administration wants Andy’s input, they can read his book,Willful Blindness.  If they’re interested in diversity of opinion, they can prove it by making appointments that demonstrate a different policy direction.  “Roundtables” are nothing more than window dressing, and McCarthy rightly rejects this effort to exploit him for a bit of political cover.  He’s obviously more effective staying where he’s at.