Obama Says Prosecuting Lawyers for Memos Up to Holder
By Roger Runningen and James Rowley
April 21 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama left open the possibility of taking action against Bush administration officials for authorizing the CIA’s use of aggressive interrogation techniques and said any congressional inquiry into the matter should avoid “politicizing” the issue.
The decision on whether to charge former officials who provided the legal advice justifying the use of tactics such as waterboarding will be up to the Justice Department and “I don’t want to pre-judge that,” Obama said today at the White House.
He reaffirmed his stance that Central Intelligence Agency operatives who acted based on that guidance shouldn’t be prosecuted.
The authorization of those interrogation measures reflected the U.S. “losing our moral bearings,” Obama said in response to questions after a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah. “That’s why I’ve discontinued those enhanced interrogation programs.”
The president’s decision last week to release classified memos written during the administration of former President George W. Bush that guided the CIA’s interrogations of suspected terrorists has fanned a debate over U.S. policies put in place after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Authorized Techniques
The memos show that Justice Department lawyers authorized the CIA to use such techniques as sleep deprivation, slapping, nudity and waterboarding, which simulates drowning. The memos, written in 2002 and 2005, were released in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said in a statement the agency’s professional ethics office is reviewing whether the legal advice in the memos by Office of Legal Counsel officials was “consistent with the professional standards that apply to department attorneys.”
She declined to comment on “the outcome of that review or on other possible investigations.”
The agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility has authority to recommend disbarment of lawyers and can refer cases for possible criminal prosecution.
Democrats in the House and Senate have proposed creating independent commissions to investigate Bush administration policies on terrorism, including detention and interrogation methods and warrantless eavesdropping.
Policy Review
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said “the consensus to review these policies is growing” even though “Republicans have shown no interest in a nonpartisan review.”
Obama, who previously rebuffed suggestions for a commission to investigate detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists, said that if Congress proceeds with its own probe it should be done in a “bipartisan fashion.”
“I do worry about this getting so politicized that we cannot function effectively” carrying out intelligence operations, Obama said. “It’s very important for the American people to feel as if this is not being dealt with to provide one side or another political advantage.”
The ACLU is calling for criminal investigations of “officials who authorized torture, lawyers who justified it and interrogators who broke the law,” the group’s executive director, Anthony Romero, said in a statement.
Differing Guidance
Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said former government lawyers can’t be prosecuted for giving legal guidance simply because “that advice is going to be disagreed with in some future administration.”
The debate over the legality of interrogation techniques “are policy differences not legal differences” he said.
Republicans, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, have assailed the Obama administration for releasing the memos, saying the action would damage U.S. security.
Cheney, in an interview yesterday on the Fox News Channel, said he wants the administration to release information showing that the interrogations prevented another attack on the United States.
“The president made a big deal after coming to office about looking forward and not backward,” Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said. “And I wish there was as much focus in this administration on policies that will keep us safe.”
Leahy, who heads the Senate panel that reviews judicial nominations, called on the author of one of the memos to resign his judgeship.
Circuit Judge Jay Bybee would not have been confirmed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003 had the existence of his 2002 memo to the CIA been known to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Leahy told reporters. “The honorable and decent thing for him to do now would be to resign,” Leahy said.
Last Updated: April 21, 2009 18:01 EDT
