Cheney Weighs In On Probe of CIA, Calls US Terror Tactics Legal & Necessary
Reacting to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s appointment of a special prosecutor last week to look into the legality of interrogation techniques used on suspects by the Central Intelligence Agency following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, former Vice President Dick Cheney called the probe a political witchhunt by left-wing Democrats.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Cheney described the probe of controversial interrogation techniques including repeated waterboarding of some suspects and threats to use a gun and a drill as an “intensely partisan, politicized look back at the prior administration,” reports the New York Times. He called such counterterrorism tactics legal and necessary, and noted that neither the gun nor the drill had actually been used on detainees.
“It’s clearly a political move,” said Cheney of the investigation of the CIA. “I mean, there’s no other rationale for why they’re doing this.”
Transcripts of Cheney’s remarks on Sunday and in another program on Friday, Special Report With Bret Baier, are provided by FOX News.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “AG Names Prosecutor for Detainee Interrogation Probe”
Vote Blog (Christian Science Monitor): “Cheney on interrogation: Obama should’ve asked for pointers”
