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 to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives. Cheney has said that the Tea Party Movement is a "positive influence on the Republican Party" and that " I think it's much better to have that kind of turmoil and change in the Republican Party than it would be to have it outside." Cheney said that Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election could be considered "an act of war". Following the swearing-in of his daughter Liz in his former congressional seat in January 2017, Cheney said he believed she would do well in