first up font tonight, a conversation with one of the central figures in this debate, john yoo. the official justice department official and author of the bush era torture memos is out with a new book on the use of president power called "crisis and command." also tonight, actor ed o'neal stops by, the former star with "married... with children" is enjoying success in prime time on tv's number one new comedy, "modern family." we're glad youoined us, author john yao and actor ed o'neal coming up right now. >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better, but mostly we're looking forward to building stronger communities and relationships. because of your help, the best is yet to come.

tavis: professor john yoo's new book is called "crisis and command." professor yoo, and honor to have you on the program. thanks for your time. >> thanks, it was great fun it. tavis: up next, actor ed o'neal. stay with us. please well ed o'neill to this program, the talented actor who starred on tv's most pop loss shows then and now, "married... with children," a show that helped turn a struggling new network called fox into a broadcasting powerhouse. he now stars on tv's number one new comedy, "modern family." the show airs wednesday nights at 9:00 on abc. here now, a scene from "modern family." >> look at these guys. they look like they came out of the 1800's. you see hugo over there. after lunch, he ordered a sanka. >> they're not the ones who are uncomfortable with this. you are. you have never been completely accepting of me. now that i have a family, it's getting a little old. >> these guys don't understand the gay thing. why create an awkward situation. that's all i'm saying. >> that's right, because you're a authority. they're as gay as they com

in fact, just last night on the job rochelle, a fellow by the name of john yoo who was the author of the white house torture memos was talking about his new book which basically says international law is not real law the white house torture memos do not contravene law and the people who implemented them are not lawbreakers. in the context of all this we decided to say hey let's pause and try to find some empirical evidence. let's find out if policymakers on the inside really do proceed international law as real law. paul is going to tell you how we accomplished that. >> my very first day in the department of state and within a newly minted lawyer. i was dealing with the use of our portfolio at a time when yugoslavia was dissolving so what to buy to see my current, richard stallman. when i went to his opposite figure of a nuclear, right? if any are i said -- don't sit down. please send in the doorway. he was a chain smoker so i thought it was just being polite. he said, i am a lawyer free zone office. i said richard, i'm your lawyer. yugoslavia's dissolving, want a little legal advice

this week, john yoo, law professor at the university of california berkeley and deputy assistant turnout in the justice department's office of legal counsel from 2001 to 2003. talks about his latest book, "crisis and command." it looks at the history of executive power going back to president george washington. professor yoo discusses his book would victoria toensing come assistant attorney general the justice department criminal division from 1984 to 1988 and a founding partner at the geneva in ten think llp. >> host: hello, i'm victoria toensing and welcome to "after words." i'm interviewing john yoo, law professor, visiting scholar for the american institute, an american enterprise institute, former deputy assistant general for the justice department. i have a similar position, but it was a few years before john's. and i was in the criminal division. he was in the office of legal counsel. author of two books on constitutional law and his years in the rush justice department. and now john, as i read "the forty years war," i say presidential scholar and historian. i'm impressed. >> gues

i'm interviewing john yoo. visiting scholar for the american institute. former deputy assistant to the journey a channel for the justice department. at a similar position, but it was a few years before john's. and i was in the criminal division. he was in the office of counsel. author of two books. constitutional law and the years and that bush justice department. and now john, as i read "crisis and command", i say presidential scholar and historian. i'm impressed. >> thank you. >> very good. i may just tell you i don't want to be like an undergraduate history professor that i had cool menu to world war i. i want to get through all of this. of course there are five presidents from washington, jefferson, jackson, lincoln and fdr, the cold war presidencies. i want to get to the mall. let's start. and where better to start than on the concept of executive power. article ii, section one, executive power vested in a president of the united states. that wasn't something they made up at the time. that has historical meaning. they had philosophers, lock, tell us

i am interviewing john yoo, law professor. visiting scholar for the american institute, the american enterprise institute. former debian assistant attorney general for the justice department. i had a similar position, but it was a few years before john's. and i was in the criminal division. he was in the office of legal counsel. author of two books on constitutional law and his years in the bush justice department. and now, john, as i read "crisis and command," a history of executive power from george washington to george w. bush, i say presidential scholar and historian. i am impressed. >> guest: thank you. >> host: and let me just tell you, i don't want to be like an undergraduate history professor that i had who only made to world war i by the end of the semester. i want to get through all of this. we go through five president, from washington, jefferson, jackson, lincoln and fdr. and then through the cold war presidencies. so i want to get through them all. let's start. and where better to start than on the concept of exec

like john yoo and jay bybee.rom the justice department led by attorney general eric holder in a conclusion made by senior career official thoerksz thr, t attorneys showed poor judgment. that was a downgrade from the harsher finding. some of this into perspective, the investigators finding of misconduct, even if not overruled today, may have amounted to little more than disbarment for the three bush era lawyers, but today's finding says the lawyers did not violate ethics rules. the same three actually carved out so-called standards of torture. the report says these men, quote, exercised poor judgment. let's turn to constitutional law expert george washington university professor jonathan turley. john, good evening. >> hi, keith. >> so this was just bad legal advice? >> obviously, it wasn't. they're saying it was. bad judgment is when you make unfortunate choices in dinner guests. not when you support a torture program. what we're seeing now is the dismantling precedent that we created at nuremberg, when we said yo

it followed a two-year review of attorneys jay bybee, john yoo and steven bradbury. they wrote memos authorizing water-boarding and other methods used on terror suspects. the justice finding said they were guilty of poor judgment, but not professional wrongdoing. the nation's foreclosure crisis may be easing, at last. the mortgage bankers association reported today fewer people fell behind on home loans at the end of 2009. and president obama announced $1.5 billion in housing aid for five hard-hit states. he spoke in las vegas, a city with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. >>> government alone can't solve this problem. and it shouldn't. but government can make a difference. it can't stop every foreclosure. and tax dollars shouldn't be used to reward the very irresponsible lenders an borrowers who help bring about the housing crisis. but what we can do is help families who have done everything right stay in their homes whenever possible. >> sreenivasan: the money for the housing aid will come from funds left in tarp, the financial rescue program. wal

the book you quote jack quote smith, who pulled back some of those more extreme than those from john yoo claiming absolute power for the president over detainee's, and i remind i think gold smith is the one who said george w. bush could have gotten 80-90% of the power he sought had he gone to congress, but the congress, made the case to the public, brought the court and provide limited court review he could have gotten 80 or 90% but the net result of the overreach, this is galt smith's term is to leave the presidency weaker today than when he came in. >> guest: that is true a lot of the presidential power. various things they took on backfired over and over and over. for instance, now because of the bomb power there's the attitude we've got to have friendly governments we can rely on to launch an house and protect our nuclear outposts in the strategic air command or they can buy and over field and all that kind of thing, and submarines and missiles, and so when president eisenhower came in, they said mossadegh in iran has taken over the government and he won't be very friendly to us beca

bush administration lawyers, jack goldsmith, who pulled back some of the more extreme memo is from john yoo cleaning absolute power for the president over detainee's, and i remind the i think the goldsmith is the one who said george w. bush could have gotten 80-90% of the power he sought had he gone to congress, made the case to the public, but the courts and provide some limited court review he could have gotten 80, 90% but the result of the over reach, this is goldsmith's terms to leave the presidency weaker today than when he came in. >> guest: that's true of a lot of presidential power. the various things they took on have backfired over and over and over. for instance now because of the power there's the attitude we've got to have friendly governments we can rely on to launch and house and protect our nuclear outpost originally the strategic air command or they can land on the fuel and that kind of thing and submarines and missiles and so when president eisenhower came in they said mossadegh in iran has taken over the government and he won't be for a friendly to us because he's not for

this new report says that attorneys including jay bybee and john yoo their opinions do not amount toustice department ethics unit recommending as a result, no legal consequences. a lot of liberals out there are going if be very, very disappointed in the obama administration's justice department. no legal consequences for justice department lawyers during the bush administration for the enhanced interrogation techniques and the legal opinions that authorized it. jack cafferty is coming up next with the cafferty file. and then tiger woods' full statement and al poll pology an unedited and raw right here in "the situation room." >>> and flames of rage. a troubled man targeting his own house before a suicide attack on an irs office. now, his wife is speaking out. a disaster nearly aifrt and we have the chilling recording of a near collision over airport. >> i don't care how you descend, you have traffic out to the right. >>> right back to jack cafferty for the cafferty report. >> before you go online to shop or pay bills or check the bank statement or send an e-mail stuff that we all do