t r u t h o u t | Conyers to Hold Hearings on "Torture" Memos

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) on Tuesday announced that he will soon hold hearings on the Bush administration's legal memos justifying the use of numerous enhanced interrogation techniques.

Conyers and other Democrats have labeled as torture the techniques explained in the memos, which provide a legal framework for the use of controversial interrogation practices such as waterboarding.

President Obama recently declassified the memos written by Bush administration lawyers, which also detail for the first time a number of additional interrogation techniques approved for use by the Central Intelligence Agency.

"Recently disclosed legal memoranda from the former Bush Administration raise grave legal, ethical, and constitutional questions," Conyers said in a statement. "The use of tactics described in these memos runs counter not only to basic notions of decency, but places our own prisoners of war at risk and weakens our national security. And the fact that these memos were authored and approved by senior lawyers of the Department of Justice challenges the very notion that we adhere to the Rule of Law in this country."

Conyers said he might hold hearings before the White House Office of Professional Responsibility completes its report from concerning the former Justice Department lawyers who wrote the memos.

"Critical questions remain concerning how these memos came into existence and were approved, which our committee is uniquely situated to consider," Conyers said.

Obama on Tuesday said he was open to an investigation and possible criminal prosecution for Bush administration officials who drafted the legal basis for the harsh interrogation techniques.

"With respect to those who formulated ...

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http://www.truthout.org/042209E

http://www.truthout.org/042209E