So today, I’m asking Congress to pass legislation that will clarify the rules for our personnel fighting the war on terror. First, I’m asking Congress to list the specific, recognizable offenses that would be considered crimes under the War Crimes Act — so our personnel can know clearly what is prohibited in the handling of terrorist enemies. Second, I’m asking that Congress make explicit that by following the standards of the Detainee Treatment Act our personnel are fulfilling America’s obligations under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. Third, I’m asking that Congress make it clear that captured terrorists cannot use the Geneva Conventions as a basis to sue our personnel in courts — in U.S. courts.

- President Bush, yesterday

I’m trying to locate some perspective here. When was the last time a government official protected himself and his friends by making something that they’d done retroactively “not illegal?”

I guess there was William Howard Taft’s “Finishing Your Host’s Entree Isn’t Impolite Especially If They Weren’t Eating It Act” of 1910, but that wasn’t about an actual crime. It was more of a response to something the French ambassador had leaked to the press. Besides, it died in committee.

Nixon’s halfhearted attempt to legalize cover-ups never went anywhere either (titling it the “Give Dick a Break Bill” was a clear sign he knew it was a non-starter). Long after he died, though, his position was validated by the “What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas” ad campaign. And, of course, by the Patriot Act. But retroactively legalizing something to avoid prosecution? This may be a first.

Or it may not be. Please offer me some historical context below.