PHILADELPHIA — Republican Congressional leaders signaled Thursday they were not interested in re-opening the debate on torture, after a leaked draft of a Trump administration executive order suggested the White House was seeking to bring back so-called CIA “black sites” and launch a review of currently-banned torture tactics.
“Well, I think the director of the CIA has made it clear, he’s going to follow the law,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters at the congressional GOP retreat in Philadelphia. “And I believe virtually all my members are comfortable with the state of the law on that issue.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) noted that torture is now illegal, adding, “We agree with it not being legal.”
The leaked White House draft called for a review of whether the the CIA should reinstate what is known as its “enhanced interrogation” program, in addition to examining re-opening the black sites, which were secret prisons where terror suspects were detained and tortured. The black sites were shut down by the Obama administration, which also imposed limits on tactics used to interrogate detainees.
Additionally, Congress passed in its 2015 defense funding legislation language that similarly limited the techniques used to what’s listed in the Army Field Manual.
Other Republicans, such as the GOP’s No. 3 in the Senate, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), as well as Senate Armed Services Chair John McCain (R-AZ), have also said they believe the ban on torture tactics to be settled law. Nevertheless, some GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, were encouraged by reports that the Trump administration wanted to re-examine the enhanced interrogation program.
