WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s decision Monday to expand an existing probe into potentially illegal actions related to the CIA’s counterterrorism program has provoked fresh criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Cheney said in a statement that “President Obama’s decision to allow” prosecutor John Durham to examine the legality of interrogation-related activities was “a reminder, if any were needed” of why some Americans question the Obama administration’s ability to protect the nation’s security.
Cheney said the CIA’s results were “directly responsible for defeating all efforts by al-Qaeda to launch further mass casualty attacks” against the country.
A senior administration official, responding on condition he not be named, called Cheney’s comments “off-base.”
“This was not something the White House allowed; this was something the AG (Attorney General Eric Holder) decided,” the official said.
“Now this might have been the SOP (standard operating procedure) in the previous administration as far as what you ‘allow’ the Justice Department to do, but I thought that there was statutory authority and responsibility to make sure that the attorney general has to make sure he does what he believes is in the best interest of justice,” the official said.
The released memos describe several plots disclosed by detainees who were subjected to harsh questioning but do not specifically attribute the revelations to the use of those techniques.
The Washington Post
