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 hunting incident it's Dick Cheney," and adding that "We can't get bin Laden, but we nailed a 78-year-old attorney." His Top 10 list was devoted to "Dick Cheney's excuses" and included "he thought the guy was trying to go gay cowboy on me." Al Franken, not yet a U.S. Senator, was a guest on Letterman's program a short time later. He asked people in the studio audience to raise their hands if they had ever shot anyone. He then asked people in the studio audience to raise their hands to indicate if they thought they would accompany a friend to the hospital