May 12th, 2009
Posted by Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 5:51pm	Torture

Torture Hearings This Week

Two hearings that will address torture will take place this week. Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will host a hearing called "What Went Wrong: Torture and the Office of Legal Counsel [OLC] in the Bush Administration." This is the first congressional hearing that will specifically address the four torture memos authored by the OLC that were released last month through the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.

The two headliners who will be testifying at this hearing are Philip Zelikow, former counselor to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and executive director of the 9/11 Commission, and Ali Soufan, a former FBI interrogator. Zelikow became somewhat famous after he appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show and recounted how he authored a legal memo in which he advised against torture after he saw the OLC memos. Zelikow said the White House tried to destroy all copies of the memos in an attempt to quash his dissent. It's unknown if a copy of the Zelikow memo still exists, although Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent has filed a FOIA request to the State Department for it. In addition, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as four members of the House Judiciary Committee, has requested the memo from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Soufan, a former FBI agent, was described by a pseudonym in a report last year by the Justice Department’s Inspector General as one of two FBI agents present during interrogations of Abu Zubaydah from March to June 2002. Soufan was the subject of an extensive New Yorker profile in 2006 and has described his resistance of what he called “borderline torture” in The New York Times and Newsweek. Ackerman details what might be asked of Soufan at tomorrow's hearing.

On Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder will be before the full House Judiciary Committee for a hearing about the Justice Department. Based on recent news releases out of the committee's office calling for the release of the Office of Professional Responsibility report and the call for Holder to appoint a special counsel to investigate those who authorized torture, it's a good guess that torture will be a big issue.

Permalink |	Torture

1. Hawaiian style Says:
   May 12th, 2009 at 10:30pm

   Congressional hearings based on the ACLU's Foia.

   I am curious why the Congress can't get its memos and information on its own. I knew they were a go along Congress for 8 years, but are they still so wimpy that they can't even get memos on their own?

   Sheesh...

2. Bob Andweave Says:
   May 13th, 2009 at 11:57am

   Will any beheadings of Americans be investigated by the ACLU as torture?

3. Your Worst Nightmare!! Says:
   May 13th, 2009 at 12:15pm

   LISTEN!!!! ACLU You are compromising the security of this country againts those enemies who want to kill Americans. You are in violation of my civil liberty to live in freedom... those were terrorist/ murderers / who are not under our constitution. STOP STOP STOP your liberal agenda.... NOW!!!

4. Sean Says:
   May 13th, 2009 at 12:35pm

   Your organization does more harm to this country then good. Your liberal, sissy point of views lead to freeing of terrorists, grant rights to non citizens, strong-arm lobbys to incure left leaning agenda, etc.....you people should move to Europe where your form of thinking is widely accepted. You can see how well it's working out for them. Losers.

5. z Says:
   May 13th, 2009 at 12:39pm

   The ACLU is a pro-terrorist organization supported by fanatics and anti-American leftists.

6. Nick Stamas Says:
   May 13th, 2009 at 3:24pm

   Your entire organization is completely on the wrong side of this issue. Please put on an American military uniform, and then tell us you want to release the photos. How did any of you ever get a degree with this kind of intellect?

7. Jennifer E Elliott Says:
   May 14th, 2009 at 3:46pm

   The work of the ACLU helps other people Experience a different stance if their personal lives alter all based on an agent that chose to lie- Yes innocent American's well documented victims of Torture- The TSP program- the one called in a hearing "collective failure" The Courts resolve what Evil created-- No human should fear a courtroom-- any one that has a comment- let justice happen- the court work- Bush Admin suspended title 18's -- yes and had people tortured for pure sadism-

8. Rick Says:
   May 14th, 2009 at 8:45pm

   Pro-torture! Because it is fun to make Terrorist and liberals cry! STOP THE ACUL NOW!