The Justice Department has found that there is no reason to pursue any further actions against John Yoo and Jay Bybee, two former government lawyers who are regarded as the author of the memos which outlined the harsh and torturous treatment of detainees. These memos, which were authored in a panic stricken aftermath of the September 11th attacks, attempted to justify the use of harsh treatments such as simulated drowning, threats to the detainees’ families, sleep deprivation, withholding of solid foods, as well as several other harsh tactics. The authors had viewed these as necessary measures to be taken in order to retrieve possible information relating to future threats.

Upon initial review, the Justice Department found that the authors committed professional misconduct, and intentionally pushed to widen the scope of power for the office of the president. However, upon further considerations, the Justice Departments pulled back and while attesting that the authors used “poor judgment”, they did not intentionally force incorrect information on the office of the president in order to persuade the harsh interrogation measures.

This decision will therefore spare Yoo and ByBee from losing their respective legal credentials; however the Senate’s Judiciary Committee will hold hearings to determine their stance on the memo authors’ actions and intents.