Obama Open to Probe, Prosecutions of Top Officials Over Interrogations
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
President Obama today defended his opposition to prosecuting CIA employees who conducted harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects but left open the possibility that officials who approved the techniques could face legal liability.
Obama also indicated that if Congress wants to examine the "enhanced interrogation program" conceived during the Bush administration, an independent commission might be a better vehicle to do so than a congressional panel that could break down along party lines and produce divisions.
The comments marked the first time that Obama has raised the prospect of legal jeopardy for those who formulated the program or a special commission to investigate it. His remarks also represented a sharp reversal of White House opposition to prosecuting officials who devised the policy -- a position that was stated publicly Sunday by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting at the White House with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Obama said he told CIA employees yesterday during a visit to CIA headquarters in Northern Virginia that "I have their back." He insisted that he is not "naive about how dangerous this world is" and said he wakes up every day and goes to bed every night thinking and worrying "about how to keep the American people safe."
(More here.)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
President Obama today defended his opposition to prosecuting CIA employees who conducted harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects but left open the possibility that officials who approved the techniques could face legal liability.
Obama also indicated that if Congress wants to examine the "enhanced interrogation program" conceived during the Bush administration, an independent commission might be a better vehicle to do so than a congressional panel that could break down along party lines and produce divisions.
The comments marked the first time that Obama has raised the prospect of legal jeopardy for those who formulated the program or a special commission to investigate it. His remarks also represented a sharp reversal of White House opposition to prosecuting officials who devised the policy -- a position that was stated publicly Sunday by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting at the White House with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Obama said he told CIA employees yesterday during a visit to CIA headquarters in Northern Virginia that "I have their back." He insisted that he is not "naive about how dangerous this world is" and said he wakes up every day and goes to bed every night thinking and worrying "about how to keep the American people safe."
(More here.)
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