THE TORTURE REPORT: Why It Began and the Investigation

By Rev. J.J. Purcell, MPS (Ret.)

The full 6,000-page study by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) regarding the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program and its use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" is classified. It is known that the study focuses on the agency's actions regarding torture on detainees between 2001-2006.

Yet, the SSCI cleared the release of a 525-page portion of the report on Dec. 9, 2014. The un-classified document reports important findings and an "executive summary" of not only the system of mistreatment to detainees by the CIA, but also the shortcomings of the detention project in its entirety. The actual release of the report came eight months after the SSCI voted to release parts of the full report for public consumption, while agreeing to keep the remainder of the report inaccessible to the public.

The report is estimated to have taken five years and $40 million to complete. There were 6 million pages of documents, e-mails, and other materials from the CIA examined in preparation for the report. In addition, the CIA was asked for 9,400 additional classified documents by the SSCI. However, those documents were never handed over to the committee and, in fact, were blocked by the Obama Administration, which cited executive privilege regarding those materials.

On March 5, 2009, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted 14-1 to open an investigation pertaining to the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program. By August of that year, the Republican Minority on the SSCI concluded that many witnesses were unlikely to participate in the investigation for fear of criminal liability. As a result, the Republican Minority on the committee withdrew from the investigation in September, 2009.

What started the whole "Torture Report" idea was, according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, when CIA Director of Clandestine Services Jose Rodriguez was discovered to have destroyed 100 video recordings of interrogations made during the year 2005. Consequently, the SSCI was suspicious he was in the midst of covering up illegal activities by the CIA. This is despite the fact the CIA initially told the SSCI that the agency was not trying to destroy evidence. Of some note, on Dec. 5, 2014, Rodriguez preemptively criticized the report in the Washington Times.

The final report was approved by the SSCI on December 13, 2012, by a vote of 9-6, with seven Democrats, one Independent and one Republican voting in favor of the publication of the report. Meanwhile, opposed to releasing the report were six Republicans, who voted in a bloc. Later, on April 3, 2014, the SSCI voted 11-3 to create a revised version of the executive summary, findings and recommendations. Thus, the 525-page unclassified document was born and released on Dec. 9, 2014.

What had initially bothered the Republican bloc on the SSCI was the lack of hearings on the dealing of the CIA between 2001-2006. However, in 2008, the Senate Armed Services Committee had launched its own investigation into the treatment of detainees in U.S. military custody. This included 70 in-person interviews, responses to questionnaires by 200 people, as well as two hearings. Accordingly, the results of that investigation were incorporated into the larger SSCI report.

Where did the $40 million figure come from? According to the CIA, $40 million worth of personnel time and resources were sacrificed in order to cooperate with SSCI during the making of the report. In addition to using agency personnel already hired, CIA officials said they had to hire additional people to assist the investigation as well. This included the construction of a dedicated facility for the CIA, where documents were reviewed prior to them being turned over to the SSCI for examination.

When the SSCI's report was made public, the six members of the Republican bloc also issued their own, 167-page document that, essentially, discussed what is wrong with the study as a whole.

THE SSCI, CIA CONFRONT EACH OTHER

On March 11, 2014, Feinstein stated the CIA unlawfully searched SSCI's computers to determine how the committee staff obtained review documents.

Earlier that year, CIA officials claimed the SSCI had accessed review documents and removed them from CIA facilities in 2010 without agency authorization. Meanwhile, Feinstein, chair of the SSCI, confirmed copies of portions of that review had been removed and transferred to the Senate's Hart Office Building because, previously, Rodriguez had destroyed evidence depicting brutal methods of interrogation used by the CIA in 2005, relative to the investigation.

Feinstein also stated CIA Acting General Counsel Robert Eatinger requested the FBI to begin a criminal inquiry into the SSCI's staff behavior. Feinstein interpreted this as an attempt to intimidate her committee. She noted that Eatinger was one of the lawyers who had approved the destruction of the tapes previously, by Rodriguez. In addition, his name was mentioned 1,600 times in the SSCI's report.

 However, on July 31, 2014, the CIA confirmed it had improperly gained access to the SSCI's computer network. Meanwhile, a Justice Dept. spokesperson confirmed their organization would not be pursuing charges into the incident. An internal review panel assembled by CIA Director John O. Brennan defended the searches and noted they were lawful and sometimes done at the behest of Brennan himself.

SOME REACTIONS TO THE REPORT

On Dec. 14, 2014, the Los Angeles Times printed a report stating that former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney said he would agree to enhanced interrogation techniques all over again. Cheney disparaged the report and allegedly characterized it as a cheap shot.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 22, 2014, the NY Times Editorial Board demanded criminal prosecution of Cheney relative to the CIA's detention and interrogation program.

CIA Director Brennan defended the results of the program and stated that imposition of enhanced interrogation techniques assisted in keeping Americans safe. However, there is some qualified speculation about whether or not President George Bush was apprised of the CIA's actions.

Feinstein and a majority of Democratic lawmakers in Washington, DC are loudly condemning the CIA's actions during the Bush Administration, while the majority of support for the former administration's position on enhanced interrogation techniques is emanating from Senate and Congressional Republicans.

The future remains unclear about what exactly will happen regarding abuses outlined in the SSCI's report. Feinstein said she hopes the report will remain a reminder of what happened so it shall never happen again. However, there is a report that CIA may be making internal changes, which may not be reported to the public. In the meantime, some areas of criticism remain agitating for criminal proceedings against those found culpable for CIA excesses.

This is the first of a four-part series about "The Torture Report"

(Rev. Jim Purcell is a graduate of the NY Theological Seminary. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Intelligence Corps during the 1980s. He is also a retired journalist who has worked for Dorf Features, exclusive to The Star-Ledger, as well as The Jersey Journal, both in New Jersey. To contact me, e-mail me at faith.writer@live.com.)