WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday named a special prosecutor to probe CIA prisoner abuse cases, a move that could distract President Barack Obama from his drive to reform the healthcare system.
Holder’s decision, which promises political headaches for Obama, came after the Justice Department’s ethics watchdog recommended considering prosecution of Central Intelligence Agency employees or contractors for harsh interrogations in Iraq and Afghanistan that went beyond approved limits.
“I fully realize that my decision to commence this preliminary review will be controversial,” 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 head the investigation, adding to his probe of the CIA’s destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects.
As Holder made his decision, new details emerged about the “enhanced” interrogation techniques used after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States under then-President George W. Bush but subsequently scratched by Obama when he took office.
Bush officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, have denied that 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 told alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that his children would be killed if any further attacks on the United States occurred, according to new details released from the CIA’s inspector general’s 2004 report.
The White House reiterated in a statement Obama’s desire to “look forward, not back” but said “ultimately determinations about whether someone broke the law are made independently by the attorney general.”
The administration also yesterday revealed it was setting up a new group to interrogate terrorism suspects in accordance with established rules and it will be overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, replacing the CIA in the lead role.
These decisions coupled with more graphic details about interrogation practices which Obama ordered halted when he took office in January, were likely to ignite a political storm at a crucial time in Washington.
Republicans will likely accuse Obama of being soft on national security while some liberal backers will be upset if the probe is limited to those who conducted interrogations while excluding the officials who approved the policies.
The debate, which could distract lawmakers, comes as Obama runs into strong political headwinds in his bid to advance his top legislative priority — overhauling the $2.5 trillion health care system.
“It will be painful and obviously politically risky for Obama to do this now — he’ll take a lot of flak that he’s undermining morale among the clandestine service in the CIA and that they’re going to be worried about doing anything in the future,” said Stephen Flanagan, an international security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
