Congressman (Conyers): Questions on CIA interrogations

[sabra]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee chairman says an interview with a former Justice Department official shows the department did not authorize some of the harsh interrogation techniques reportedly used by the CIA.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan made the comments after the committee interviewed former assistant attorney general Jay Bybee, who is now a federal judge. During the Bush administration, Bybee's Justice Department office wrote legal opinions governing the interrogation techniques used on terrorism detainees.

According to Conyers, Bybee's statements are highly relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation of alleged detainee abuse during the Bush administration.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPx7tig_XprhbP6YYJCux62a3siAD9GVIIL81

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more here:

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/15/jay-bybee-admits-cia-had-no-approval-for-water-dousing-diapering/

Jay Bybee Admits CIA Had No Approval for Water Dousing, Diapering
By: emptywheel Thursday July 15, 2010 8:54 am


On May 26, the House Judiciary Committee interviewed Jay Bybee about the circumstances that went into the Bybee Memos authorizing torture. Here’s the transcript of that interview.

I’m going to read them in depth, but for now I wanted to point out this detail.

Bybee confirmed that a number of techniques reportedly used on CIA detainees were not approved by OLC: These techniques include: Diapering a detainee or forcing a detainee to defecate on himself, forcing a detainee to wear blackout goggles, extended solitary confinement or isolation, hanging a detainee from ceiling hooks, daily beatings, spraying cold water on a detainee, and subjecting a detainee to high-volume music or noise. (Transcript of May 26, 2010, Interview of former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee at 75-78, 80-81, 86-90, 98-99.)

Spencer first wrote about the prolonged diapering here. I’ve written extensively about how CIA tried to fudge approval for water dousing (here’s an example, here’s what I wrote on Wednesday).

That is, it has long been fairly clear CIA did some things to detainees they had no authorization for. And in the case of Gul Rahman, one of those techniques (water dousing) killed him. Yet, reports say John Durham is finishing up, with not a squeak about prosecuting this death that–Jay Bybee says–had no OLC authorization.

In other words, this interview has Jay Bybee admitting that the CIA had no authorization for the techniques that contributed to Gul Rahman’s death. John Durham?

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[SpiralHawk]

2. "Smirk." - xCommander AWOL (R)

[awoke_in_2003]

3. I am sure...

that strongly worded letters will start flowing soon. :sarcasm:

[gratuitous]

4. I sure hope we're not going to wallow in the past

Especially when all the Bush administration people would prefer that we look ahead to the future. Nothing to see here. Quit looking, I tell you! This doesn't concern you, or you're politicizing crucial decisions that saved our country from certain ruin, and you're not supporting the troops, and, and, and, SOCIALISTS!

[Iowa]

5. K&R

[EFerrari]

6. Oh, please. n/t