Senate Intel Committee Announces Broad Investigation of CIA Interrogations

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When asked whether she could support the call for a “truth commission” to investigate the civil liberties and human rights abuses committed under George Bush, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said that she expected to be doing similar work on her panel … and she wasn’t kidding.

The Intelligence panel announced today that it would conduct a year-long inquiry into the scope and performance of the CIA’s interrogation program, including “whether the CIA accurately described the detention and interrogation program to other parts of the U.S. government” and “whether the CIA implemented the program in compliance with official guidance.”

This investigation has the potential to unearth much more detail about the conduct of Bush’s “war on terror” than we already have, but it is likely to be conducted largely in private. (The “truth commission,” by contrast, is intended to operate in the public eye.)

Unfortunately, the Intelligence panel doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to bipartisan investigations. The committee’s reports on pre-war use of intelligence on Iraq (a.k.a. “Phase One” and “Phase Two,” which was delayed by several years) were panned by progressive analysts for succumbing to White House pressure and ignoring crucial evidence.

It’s worth noting, however, that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) was the chairman senior Democrat on the panel at the time of those reports, not Feinstein.

Late Update: Sen. Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) statement on the inquiry is after the jump.

I strongly support the review announced today by the Senate Intelligence Committee into the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. I opposed the program on legal, moral and national security grounds and welcomed the president’s executive orders to end it. By conducting a thorough review into the program, the committee will help bring to light some of the most horrific activities conducted under the past administration and help ensure that this country never goes down such a damaging and lawless path again.

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