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NEWS ABOUT: torture memo

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Torture Memo Author Says CIA Went Too Far

Bybee says agency exceeded guidelines

(Newser) - The Bush administration lawyer who gave legal cover to the CIA to use waterboarding and other brutal tactics is throwing the agency under the bus. Jay Bybee, who co-wrote the so-called torture memos, told a House panel that the CIA went way beyond what the Justice Department sanctioned, reports the... More »

Yoo: I Defended 'Torture Memos' for Obama's Sake

Bush lawyer says he was fighting to preserve executive power

(Newser) - The Bush administration lawyer who authored memos blessing harsh interrogation techniques and warrantless wiretaps says he's been defending himself in order to help...President Obama. The president "may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency," by winning a fight "to protect his... More »

Ethics Report Clears Bush Lawyers in Torture Memo

John Yoo and Jay Bybee accused only of 'poor judgment'

(Newser) - Good news for the Bush lawyers who provided the legal rationale for waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics: An upcoming Justice Department report clears them of serious misconduct charges, reports Newsweek . The report's final reviewer softened an earlier version that accused John Yoo, now a law professor, and Jay Bybee,... More »

Jon Stewart: I Should Have Nailed John Yoo

Stewart apologizes for a disappointing Daily Show interview

(Newser) - Jon Stewart has taken down a lot of people on The Daily Show —but Monday’s guest John Yoo wasn’t one of them, and last night he apologized for the disappointing interview. Yoo, author of the Bush torture memos—or, as Stewart put it, “the memo that... More »

'Monstrous Liar' Cheney Manipulates the Media

Former VP's defense of torture full of half-truths, falsehoods: Froomkin

(Newser) - Since leaving government, Dick Cheney has realized that TV and newspapers will report anything he says, writes Dan Froomkin for the Huffington Post, even though "he is a monstrous liar”—remember Saddam's WMDs? "After years of speaking in whispers, operating by proxy, and leaving as few fingerprints... More »

Holder to Probe CIA Torture Cases: Officials

Special prosecutor will pursue agents who took things 'too far'

(Newser) - Attorney General Eric Holder is planning to name a special prosecutor to probe cases of alleged CIA torture of terror suspects, the Los Angeles Times reports. Insiders say the narrowly focused inquiry will aim to determine "whether people went beyond the techniques that were authorized" in the so-called torture... More »

Yoo Fights Back on Torture

(Newser) - The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that... More »

Pranksters Crash Lecture by Torture Memo Writer

(Newser) - If ex-Justice Department hand John Yoo thought he could fade into obscurity after writing infamous memos justifying the government’s use of torture and warrantless wiretapping, he was wrong. An Australian comedian crashed his class at Chapman University School of Law in California last week, dressed up like a detainee... More »

Terrorist Can Sue Over Torture Memos: Judge

Ruling on Padilla may open door against former Justice lawyer

(AP) - A convicted terrorist can sue a former Bush administration lawyer for drafting the legal theories that led to his alleged torture, ruled a federal judge who said he was trying to balance a clash between war and the defense of personal freedoms. The order by judge Jeffrey White of San... More »

5 Judges Obama Never Considered

We guarantee Obama never considered any of these schmucks

(Newser) - Barack Obama probably never sat down to consider the worst possible contenders for David Souter’s Supreme Court vacancy. But the guys at The Stimulist did. Here are the top (bottom?) five judges who never had a shot:
  • Myron Steele: Used his government email address to send a lewd video
... More »

You Can't See It, But Cheney's Pants Are on Fire

Ex-veep's speech full of torture distortions

(Newser) - In his full-on assault on the president's conterterrorism policies yesterday, Dick Cheney deployed an arsenal of “omissions, exaggerations and misstatements,” charge Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel of McClatchy. Among them:
  • Cheney claimed that harsh interrogations yielded vital, attack-preventing information and quoted Adm. Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence.
... More »

Pelosi Backtracks on CIA Claims

Speakers shifts focus to Bush administration after Panetta rebuff

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi retreated yesterday from her claim the CIA lied to Congress about its interrogation program and shifted the blame to the Bush administration, Politico reports. The speaker said her criticism is "separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe.... More »

Pelosi Raises Stakes in Torture Debate

Speaker puts herself at center of storm over Bush policies

(Newser) - Whether by accident or design, Nancy Pelosi has turned the debate on the Bush administration's anti-terror program into a high-stakes game of brinksmanship, Dan Balz writes in the Washington Post. Pelosi's declaration yesterday that the CIA lied to Congress amounts to "a declaration of war," Balz writes, setting... More »

Cheney Might Be Right on Torture

Despite his record, Cheney might be telling the truth this time

(Newser) - It's hard to believe a word Dick Cheney says but that doesn't mean his claims that "enhanced interrogation" saved lives should be dismissed out of hand, Richard Cohen writes in the Washington Post. The former vice president has been loudly defending the program, and it would be a mistake... More »

Torture Memos Raise Sleep Deprivation Concerns

CIA tries to hold onto interrogation method

(Newser) - Sleep deprivation has drawn fresh scrutiny with President Obama's release of secret CIA memos on interrogation methods, reports the Los Angeles Times. Depriving detainees of sleep was a central strategy in drawing information from suspected terrorists, and is one of the banned tactics that the CIA tried hardest to keep.... More »

Abu Ghraib Guards Say They Were Scapegoats

(Newser) - Lawyers for US soldiers convicted of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison say the recently released CIA memos prove their clients were just following orders, the Times of London reports. Some of the dozen soldiers who were convicted plan to appeal, arguing that the Bush administration kept quiet during their... More »

We're All to Blame for Torture

Tactics are no surprise; let's not dump our guilt on CIA

(Newser) - Suddenly, Democrats in Congress are calling for the prosecution of CIA agents for torture. But that torture was never a secret, and when it was politically prudent, Democrats had no problem backing it—and neither did many Americans, writes Naomi Wolf in the Guardian. We’ve all got “blood... More »

GOP Torture Stance Is All Politics, But Media Is Mum

(Newser) - Republican calls for the selective release of memos on torture techniques is a naked political ploy, Greg Sargent writes on the Plum Line. “The emerging official position of the GOP on torture is that the only classified information about torture that should be released is that which can bolster... More »

Obama Approval at 69%; US Split Over Memos

Strong partisan divide over their release, probe talk

(Newser) - As he nears the 100-day mark, President Obama’s approval ratings remain high at 69%, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds—but the recent release of torture memos has sparked a major partisan split. Just over half of those polled back the release; three-quarters of Dems support it, while about... More »

Ex-CIA Chief: Congress' Sudden 'Amnesia' a Joke

(Newser) - The outrage on Capitol Hill against Bush-era interrogation policies is nothing more than a disingenuous “circus,” former CIA chief Porter Goss writes in the Washington Post. Goss, also a former congressman, says he and other senior lawmakers were briefed more than once about CIA tactics. “I do... More »

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