Correction and Mea Culpa

I am reliably informed that although the Senate confirmed Jay Bybee to be a federal judge on March 13, 2003, Jay did not take the oath of office until March 28th, at which point his resignation from OLC became effective. (When I first looked into this dateline, I was for some reason left with the impression that the President issued his commission, and Judge Bybee took the oath of office, immediately upon confirmation. That was not the case.) Moreover, the 14th was a Friday, not a Saturday. (Don't know how I made that mistake -- inept Googling, I suppose.)

Thus, when the Yoo memo was issued to the Pentagon, Jay Bybee was still the head of OLC, although for some reason he did not sign this Opinion.

My sincerest apologies to Judge Bybee, Ed Whelan and Balkinization readers for this mistake.