In contrast, the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states the following: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

It's no wonder that, evaluating other memos Yoo wrote, the ethics lawyers in the Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that he was guilty of "professional misconduct," a judgment he escaped when a higher up concluded that his reasoning was "flawed" and "extreme" but sincerely held. By keeping Yoo's legal reasoning secret, the Obama Administration is once again siding with the Bush Administration and against the innocent Americans it victimized. When the executive branch takes an unprecedented action, in secret, that is later deemed illegal, the American people have an obvious, legitimate interest in understanding how it happened. Shame on the Obama Administration for standing in the way of transparency.

Image credit: Reuters

