Constitutional Law

Government Documents Shed Light On Bush Administration's Interrogation Policies

A heavily redacted federal government memorandum adds to the allegations that the Bush administration gave a green light to the CIA on using harsh interrogation methods on al Qaeda detainees. The American Civil Liberties Union obtained the document, and two others, via a Freedom of Information Act request.

A memo from the Justice Department, authored by Jay S. Bybee, then head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, assured the CIA that its interrogators would not one day face torture charges as long as they did not have “the specific intent to inflict severe physical pain or suffering.”

Dean Boyd, a Justice Department spokesperson, told The Washington Post that Bybee’s memo has been rescinded and replaced by one with a broader definition of torture.

The ACLU told The New York Times that the documents “supply further evidence, if any were needed, that the Justice Department authorized the C.I.A. to torture prisoners in its custody.” 

Full post as published by ACS Blog on July 25, 2008 (boomark / email).