Fleischer: Subpoena Me —I Dare You

Time for torturers to face the music, say celebs

(NEWSER) - A coalition of celebrity musicians is demanding the release of Bush administration documents revealing how music was used to torture Guantanamo Bay inmates. Songs from Metallica, The Real Slim Shady, and the Star Spangled Banner, among many others, were blasted all day for days on end to rattle prisoners, inmates have revealed. "The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me," said Tom Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine. "We need to end torture and close Guantanamo now." More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama and Dick Cheney conspired to perpetuate the same myth yesterday, writes David Brooks of the New York Times. In their telling, we have seen a sharp break between Bush-Cheney terror policies and Obama-Biden ones. “This is a completely bogus distortion of history.” In reality, the policies Cheney’s defending were in place for maybe three years after 9/11. After that, over Cheney's objections, Bush cleaned up his act. More»

Justice docs released detail OK'd techniques

(NEWSER) - A Bush-era memo on interrogation techniques acknowledged that waterboarding represented a “threat of imminent death,” but that the simulated-drowning procedure was not torture because it caused no lasting psychological harm, Reuters reports. The Justice Department memo and three others on interrogations were released to the public today—and simultaneously dismissed by Obama officials as no longer valid. More»

Prosecutors seek charges in US officials' Gitmo role

(NEWSER) - Spanish prosecutors will seek charges against Alberto Gonzales and five other Bush-administration officials over their role in torture at Guantanamo, the Daily Beast reports. The prosecutors plan to announce the probe into the so-called Bush Six today at Spain’s central criminal court. “The evidence provided was more than sufficient to justify a more comprehensive investigation,” said a lawyer for the prosecution. More»

VP gave go ahead for 'remarkably successful' tactic

(NEWSER) - Vice President Dick Cheney personally approved using waterboarding to interrogate 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he reveals in a wide-ranging interview on ABC News. "I was involved in helping get the process cleared. The agency came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do," said Cheney, referring to waterboarding and other controversial interrogation techniques. "They talked to me to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it." More»