Anti-Torture Memo May Embarrass Bush Camp

Veep intervened when legislators got twitchy

(NEWSER) - Dick Cheney personally led at least four briefings with senior House and Senate members about harsh interrogation techniques, reports the Washington Post. The former vice president's interventions took place at critical moments when Congress was threatening to investigate or even outlaw techniques, such as waterboarding, that are widely considered torture. Although Cheney was a vocal advocate for the Bush administration's policies in public, his role in defending the program to Congress was previously unknown. More»

House Republicans go on record after closed-door briefing

(NEWSER) - Democrats are seething today after Republicans told the press about classified intelligence gleaned in a closed-door briefing about interrogation techniques. GOP members told the Hill they were informed that harsh techniques led to information that prevented terrorist attacks. That led Democrats to blast their rivals for disclosing secret information, triggering a full political brawl. More»

(AP) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today she was not complicit in the government’s decision to waterboard terrorist suspects, and she claimed the CIA misled her about whether the interrogation technique considered torture by many was being used. “To the contrary … we were told explicitly that waterboarding was not being used,” the California Democrat said of a formal CIA briefing she received in fall 2002. More»

'Someone appears not to be telling the truth' about waterboarding

(NEWSER) - Karl Rove indulges in a bit of revenge on Nancy Pelosi in his Wall Street Journal column today, writing that "the political persecution of Bush administration officials she has been pushing may now ensnare her." As evidence mounts that the CIA told her as early as 2002 about waterboarding—which "Democrats are calling" torture—Rove wonders whether Pelosi should be considered "an accessory to a crime." More»

(NEWSER) - Republicans are slamming Nancy Pelosi for saying she felt she had no recourse when informed of harsh interrogation tactics in 2003, Politico reports. “If she felt it was wrong, she should have acted,” John McCain said. Some critics suggest the House speaker could have written a letter or requested a meeting with the president. A Pelosi aide said, “We were not in a position to change the policy.” More»