“The August [1] 2002 [Bybee] memo from the Justice Department concluded that laws outlawing torture do not bind [President] Bush because of his constitutional authority to conduct a military campaign. ‘As Commander in Chief, the President has the constitutional authority to order interrogations of enemy combatants to gain intelligence information concerning the military plans of the enemy,’ said the memo, obtained by The Washington Post. Critics say that this misstates the law, and that it ignores key legal decisions, such as the landmark 1952 Supreme Court ruling in Youngstown Steel and Tube Co v. Sawyer, which said that the president, even in wartime, must abide by established U.S. laws.”
– Mike Allen and Dana Priest, “Memo on Torture Draws Focus to Bush,” The Washington Post, June 9, 2004