WASHINGTON – US attorney general Eric Holder yesterday named a special prosecutor to investigate CIA prisoner abuse cases, a move that could distract US president Barack Obama from his drive to reform healthcare.
Mr Holder’s decision came after the US justice department’s ethics watchdog recommended considering prosecution of CIA employees or contractors for harsh interrogations in Iraq and Afghanistan that went beyond approved limits.
“I fully realise that my decision to commence this preliminary review will be controversial,” Mr Holder said in a statement.
“In this case, given all of the information currently available, it is clear to me that this review is the only responsible course of action for me to take.”
He chose career federal prosecutor John Durham to handle the investigation, adding to his investigation of the CIA’s destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects.
As Mr Holder made his decision, new details emerged about the “enhanced” interrogation techniques used after the September 11th, 2001, attacks on the US under then-president George W Bush but subsequently halted by Mr Obama.
Bush officials, including former vice-president Dick Cheney, have denied torture was used and defended their interrogation practices as legal. These included sleep and food deprivation as well as so-called waterboarding, a technique that simulates drowning, of a handful of suspects.
In one instance, interrogators threatened alleged September 11th mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with killing his children if any further attacks on the US occurred, according to new details released from the CIA inspector general’s 2004 report.
The administration yesterday revealed it was setting up a new group to interrogate terrorism suspects in accordance with established rules and it would be overseen by the FBI, replacing the CIA in the lead role.
These decisions, coupled with more graphic details about interrogation practices, which Mr Obama ordered to be stopped when he took office in January, are likely to ignite a political storm at a crucial time in Washington.
Mr Obama has repeatedly said he wants to move forward rather than dwell on Bush administration actions after the 2001 attacks. But the White House said the decision was up to Mr Holder.
“The president thinks that Eric Holder, who he appointed as a very independent attorney general, should make those decisions,” White House spokesman Bill Burton said in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where Mr Obama is on a weeklong holiday.
Republicans are likely to accuse Mr Obama of being soft on national security while some liberal backers will be upset if the investigation is limited to those who conducted interrogations while excluding the officials who approved the policies.
Mr Obama has been trying to keep attention focused on his top legislative priority – overhauling the $2.5 trillion (€1.75 trillion) healthcare system. Now, lawmakers could be distracted with hearings and debate over past interrogation methods. – (Reuters)