Bush administration lawyers cited a TV show more than the Constitution to justify torture

Evidence

According to Dahlia Lithwick of Newsweek, the Bush administration lawyers who designed interrogation methods in the War on Terror and redefined torture cited Jack Bauer more often than the U.S. Constitution. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff gave a speech at a Heritage Foundation dinner, “Fact vs. Fiction in the War on Terror,” on the ways in which 24 does and does not mirror real life. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 296 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Government lawyers cited a TV character more often than the Constitution when justifying torture. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 296; Presidential candidates and a Supreme Court justice invoked a TV character to justify torture. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 295; TV dramas can avoid stereotyping yet still legitimize real-world torture policies — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 291 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Government lawyers cited a TV character more often than the Constitution when justifying torture. #corroborates (1.00) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 296