The New Torture Memos
As the Bush Administration continues to take heat over the new torture memos, Retuters reports that the CIA is still operating secret prisons overseas.
“The ongoing existence of the CIA program is extremely troubling,” especially in light of the reported Justice Department opinion, said Elisa Massimino, Washington director of the advocacy group Human Rights First.
How will these developments affect the confirmation hearing for President Bush’s Attorney General pick, Judge Mukasey, now scheduled for October 17th? Expect Senators on the Judiciary Committee to be asking a lot of questions about the Administration’s interrogation policy.
Talkingpointsmemo.com has video up of yesterday’s unconvincing performance by White House spokesperson Dana Perino. Basic message from the White House to Americans on torture: Just trust us. Unfortunately, yesterday’s revelation of the existence of two more secret opinions justifying torture makes taking White House assurances impossible to do.
(For a more entertaining video clip, check out Slate’s take on what happens when Justice Scalia joins the cast of “24.”)
Finally, Senator Dodd — joining Senator Obama — has issued a statement condemning these latest torture memos. What are the other candidates saying? Post a comment if you find any of them on the record on this crucially important topic. Or, if they’re in your area in the coming days, ask them yourself.
