WASHINGTON — Attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey needs to state that an interrogation technique simulating drowning is torture to help get Sen. Ken Salazar’s vote for confirmation.
Salazar, a Democrat, said today that Mukasey’s views on which interrogation techniques are legal under U.S. law are “extremely important.”
Mukasey, a retired federal judge, so far has refused to say whether waterboarding is allowable.
“If, at the end of the day, he is not able to give a clear answer that says waterboarding is against the law, I will probably end up voting against him,” Salazar said.
A bill passed by Congress last year on torture included waterboarding among the techniques that government interrogators cannot legally use, Salazar said.
“I do think a bright line ought to be drawn there,” Salazar said.
Salazar said he also plans to read all of Mukasey’s answers to questions before deciding how to vote.
Sen. Wayne Allard, a Republican, hasn’t decided how to vote on Mukasey and hasn’t said whether the nominee’s position on waterboarding’s legality is essential, Allard spokesman Steve Wymer said.
“He’s looking forward to meeting with (Mukasey) and talking with him about a lot of these issues, but in general, he thinks highly of him,” Wymer said.
