David Addington today offered a preposterous reason for refusing to answer a question about whether or not he was party to talks about torture with his superiors -- al-Qaeda may be watching CSPAN and he can't give away any information that may benefit them. Really.

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DELAHUNT: Oh I can understand why [the President] doesn't talk about it.

ADDINGTON: Because you gotta communicate with al Qaeda. If you do -- I can't talk to you, al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN.

DELAHUNT: Right. Well, I'm sure they are watching, and I'm glad they finally have a chance to see you, Mr. Addington.

ADDINGTON: Yeah, I'm sure you're pleased.

UPDATE: Digby has much more on Addington:

Addington ought to be held in contempt of Congress for just plain contemptuousness. As Scott Horton noted on Pacifica's coverage, he clearly believes himself to be smarter than all the Representatives in the room, and he has no problem bullying them around the way he reportedly bullies everyone in the executive branch. He also doesn't mind lying about his role in designing torture tactics after a personal trip to Guantanamo...read on

At this point, we can finally agree that Cheney is the Vice President, and the Vice President is part of the executive branch, right? Apparently not. Cheney’s reclusive chief of staff, David Addington, told the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon that the VP is “attached” to the legislative branch.

In fact, Addington had all kinds of odd things to say today, including his inability answer questions about torture policy because "al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN," and his alleged unfamiliarity with the Unitary Theory of the Executive, which Addington has used for years to justify all kinds of shameful behavior.

Just as an aside, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen any government official express the kind of contempt for Congress as I’ve seen from Addington today. Every response to every question is soaked in pure revulsion. I keep expecting him to spit at the members of the committee after every exchange.

It made for an interesting afternoon. We'll have more videos up shortly...

Here's John Yoo's infamous defense of torture: Download | play

Cassel: If the president deems that he's got to torture somebody, including by crushing the testicles of the person's child, there is no law that can stop him?

Yoo: No treaty

Cassel: Also no law by Congress - that is what you wrote in the August 2002 memo...

Yoo: I think it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that.

 And the memo's author - John Yoo, then a deputy in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel - was a longtime ally and notoriously pliant scribe for the radical legal views of Vice President Cheney and his chief enforcer, David S. Addington. Yoo's memo is a historic document. It is the ultimate expression of Cheney's belief that anything the president or his designates do - no matter how illegal, barbaric or un-American - is justifiable in the name of national self-defense.

I've written about David Addington many times. He's Dick Cheney's "resident evil" and chief enforcer in the administration. Murray Waas wrote a great piece on Addington a while ago. "Addington's Role In Cheney's Office Draws Fresh Attention"

Where there has been controversy over the past four years, there has often been Addington. He was a principal author of the White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects. He was a prime advocate of arguments supporting the holding of terrorism suspects without access to court…

Well, he's going to testify and Froomkin sends an important message to Congress.

Dan Froomkin:

David S. Addington, Vice President Cheney's formidable and reclusive chief of staff, is scheduled to appear before the House judiciary committee Thursday for a hearing on how the Bush administration developed its interrogation policies. Signs are that he actually intends to show up.

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