So, as has been true ever since he authored the “torture memos” for 43, and allowed water-boarding for that post 9/11 administration… John Yoo has shown himself incapable of resisting “false dichotomies” in his legal “reasonings“.

In the torture by waterboard setting circa 2003, he came to the specious conclusion that if we needed information, we were empowered by the “necessities” of the situation to ignore our own Geneva Conventions, and US law, in collecting it — via torture. He wholly ignored that such info is generally wildly useless, as the victims’ memories are badly-distorted by torture. He also came to the surprising conclusion that water-boarding was not… torture. [I won’t bore you with his old sophistry, as we’ve discussed that all before (in 2004), on the indict dick cheney property.]

So — getting back to the main Yoo point today, his current false dichotomy is that one cannot be prosecuted for felonies proven by one’s own tapes and photos — at the same time that the people decide NOT to nominate him for the GOP run at the 2024 White House. In fact, as he well knows, there is nothing to prevent Tangerine from being CoC whilst in a federal lockup.

But he styles the dilemma (and Scott Johnson agrees with Yoo’s flawed formulation this morning) as an either/or.

It is absolutely essential to the integrity of the republic that we allow him to run, all whilst holding him to the letter of the espionage laws, as written.

And that is happening — not by Mr. Biden, but by an independently funded special counsel. Just as Durham looked into what Yoo called Russia-gate, and just as a Trump appointee is already independently investigating the supposed Biden matter. The difference is… there was (and is) no “there, there” in either of the latter two. So not much is happening, because there are not audio and video tapes of the supposed targets committing felonies.

Oh — and it matters that not one but at least two of Tangerine’s OWN lawyers swear under oath that he urged them to commit felonies, and hid evidence covered by a grand jury subpoena from them.

Thus… they quit.

What this all boils down to, with Yoo, Stauffer, Hinderaker, Hayward and Johnson… is all so much “Oh, look! its Halley’s Comet!” — as a distraction from what will be the worst losses the GOP will ever suffer as a party… in 2024.

Sorry — tricks are for… kids.