Secret DOJ Opinions Back Harsh Interrogations
The New York Times reveals in a story today that the Justice Department issued two secret opinions endorsing harsh interrogations just months after a December 2004 public opinion appeared to condemn such tactics.
The first opinion explicitly allowed a combination of techniques to be used on terrorism suspects, including slapping prisoners’ heads, simulating their drowning through waterboarding, and stripping them naked while exposing them to freezing temperatures, the newspaper says.
Newly confirmed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales approved the legal memo despite objections from Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who was resigning amid clashes with the White House. Comey warned colleagues they would be ashamed of the opinion when it came to light.
The second opinion stated that none of the CIA interrogation methods violated the interrogation standard approved in the public memo—one that bars “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment.
Both opinions were signed by Steven Bradbury, head of the Office of Legal Counsel.
