‘Frontline’ looks at Cheney effort
“Frontline” (9 p.m., KSPS) enters a new season with “Cheney’s Law,” a look at Vice President Dick Cheney’s decades-long concern with the erosion of presidential powers during the Vietnam-Watergate era and his efforts to reassert those powers over the past six years.
“Law” contains extensive interviews with two Justice Department lawyers who were once rising stars in conservative legal circles. In the hours and days following the attacks of Sept. 11, John Yoo drafted memoranda that gave the president unprecedented wartime powers.
“Frontline” portrays Yoo as very much under the influence of the vice president’s office and Cheney’s lawyer Richard Addington.
Yoo continues to defend his philosophy and argues that critics have not yet come up with alternatives that would protect the country against possible terrorists. But when his friend, colleague and fellow conservative legal scholar Jack L. Goldsmith replaced Yoo in the White House’s Office of Legal Counsel, he was shocked at Yoo’s legal handiwork.
He felt that the Cheney-Addington-Yoo philosophy of unfettered presidential power was legally flawed and indefensible under the American Constitution.
Goldsmith would tangle with the administration over issues, including granting Geneva Convention rights to Iraqi prisoners, the definition of torture and the wiretapping of American civilians.
Are we still being affected by the environment and diet that shaped our grandparents? “Nova” (7 p.m., KSPS) explains on “The Ghost in Your Genes.”
Other highlights
The Red Sox and Indians meet in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (5 p.m., Fox).
Sam receives a white dove on “Reaper” (9 p.m., CW).
Alex takes a divisive stance on “Cane” (10 p.m., CBS).
The only eyewitness to a brutal attack is the victim’s mentally challenged daughter on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10 p.m., NBC).
Denny’s pal has a big announcement on “Boston Legal” (10 p.m., ABC).
Ellen’s plight explained on “Damages” (10 p.m., FX).
Intrepid chefs shift gears from sushi snobs to a child’s birthday party on “Two Dudes Catering” (10:30 p.m., Food).