Cheney, Obama Telling Same Lie About Bush: Brooks

(NEWSER) - Dick Cheney lambasted Barack Obama today for his decision to name a special prosecutor to look into Bush-era terror interrogations. The move raises “doubts about this administration’s ability to be responsible for our nation’s security,” he said in a statement. “The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions.” More»

(NEWSER) - AG Eric Holder today named a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture against CIA operatives who interrogated terror suspects during the Bush administration, the Washington Post reports. John Durham, who is currently probing the destruction of interrogation tapes, will look into fewer than 12 cases detailed in a CIA report released today and determine if a full-scale investigation is warranted. The Bush-era Justice Department investigated and dismissed the cases. More»

(NEWSER) - In what’s becoming a much-hyped political showdown, Barack Obama and Dick Cheney will deliver back-to-back speeches on national security this morning, CNN reports. Obama’s 10am speech will lay out a framework for closing Guantanamo Bay, offering a high-minded defense of his decisions so far regarding it and its detainees. He'll argue that America "lost its way" in fighting terrorism, and that Guantanamo has made us less safe. More»

Prosecution possible, but nailing Cheney a legal headache

(NEWSER) - Those calling for Bush administration prosecutions on torture-related grounds may have their way—but whether those in question can actually be convicted is a whole other kettle of fish, Jeffrey Rosen writes in New York. Much of the case would likely hinge on whether authorities believed their own claims in making a case for waterboarding. And appointing a special prosecutor could create headaches for the Justice Department. More»

Original charges were dropped because suspect was tortured

(NEWSER) - One of the "high-value" detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay has been charged with planning the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 US sailors, reports the LA Times . Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, a Saudi of Yemeni descent, faces the death penalty if convicted of planning and orchestrating the attack on the Cole as it was docked in a Yemeni harbor. More»