Waterboarding were dismissed in a memo from Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis who found that Yoo showed "poor judgment" but did not violate ethical standards. Commentators have noted that the memos omitted key relevant precedents, including a Texas precedent under then-Governor George W. Bush when the state convicted and sentenced to prison for 10 years a county sheriff for waterboarding a criminal suspect. Bush did not issue a pardon for the sheriff. Former George W. Bush administration officials Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft have stated since leaving office that they do not consider waterboarding to be torture. At least one
Dick Cheney has been compared to Darth Vader, a characterization originated by his critics, but which was later adopted humorously by Cheney himself as well as by members of his family and staff. As a result of Cheney having admitted that he 'signed off' on the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" program, some public officials, as well as several media outlets and advocacy groups, have called for his prosecution under various anti-torture and war crimes statutes. In former president George H. W. Bush's book "Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush", published in November 2015, the 41st president, although