WASHINGTON — President Obama left open the possibility Tuesday of legal consequences for Bush administration officials who authorized the harsh interrogation techniques applied to “high-value” terrorism suspects, saying the attorney general should determine whether they broke the law.
Obama also said that if Congress is intent on investigating the enhanced-interrogation program, an independent commission might offer a better means to do so than a congressional panel, which he indicated is more likely to split along partisan lines than produce constructive results.
The president’s comments marked the first time that he has explicitly raised the prospect of legal jeopardy for those who formulated the interrogation policy, which critics say amounted to torture. They also reversed his administration’s apparent opposition to prosecuting those officials — a stance taken Sunday by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
While Obama defended his opposition to holding CIA interrogators legally accountable, he did not extend that posture to those who created a legal foundation for the policy.
“For those who carried out some of these operations within the four corners of legal opinions or guidance that had been provided from the White House, I do not think it’s appropriate for them to be prosecuted,” Obama told reporters at the White House. “With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws, and I don’t want to prejudge that.”
The president’s remarks came as he was under fire from critics on his left and right for his handling of formerly classified Office of Legal Counsel memos in which Bush administration officials authorized the interrogation techniques, which Obama banned in the early days of his presidency.
Critics on the right, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, said Obama was jeopardizing national security by releasing the memos.
