Former Bush Justice Department lawyer John Yoo is unwilling to say that the president doesn't have the authority to order someone buried alive.
Conyers: Could the President order a suspect buried alive?You wouldn't think that a lawyer, even a former Bush lawyer, would have to finesse the response to such a question.
Yoo: Uh, Mr. Chairman, I don't think I've ever given advice that the President could order someone buried alive. . .
Conyers: I didn't ask you if you ever gave him advice. I asked you thought the President could order a suspect buried alive.
Yoo: Well Chairman, my view right now is that I don't think a President . . . no American President would ever have to order that or feel it necessary to order that.
Some questions clearly lend themselves to a simple "yes" or "no."
Whether the president has the authority to bury people alive used to be one of them.
