Holder cautious on U.S. interrogations probes

[babylonsister]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07389457.htm


Holder cautious on U.S. interrogations probes
07 May 2009 23:12:28 GMT

Source: Reuters
* Holder has not reviewed report on interrogation - lawyers

* He says to steer away from actions considered partisan

By Tabassum Zakaria


WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday vowed to move cautiously and avoid partisan politics in deciding whether any Bush-era officials should be prosecuted for justifying harsh interrogation techniques.

snip//

Holder said he had not yet read the draft report from a review by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility conducted during the previous administration of lawyers who wrote the Bush-era interrogation legal opinions.

"I have not reviewed it. It is not in final form yet," Holder said. "It deals, I suspect, not only with the attorneys but the people that they interacted with, so I think we'll gain some insights by reviewing that report."

He said the review could lead to probes of other officials.

A Senate Intelligence Committee report last month said top Bush officials, like then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney, had approved the CIA's interrogation program, including waterboarding, in 2002.

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander said he supported Obama's view that it was best to look forward rather than launch potentially far-ranging investigations into past events.

"What about members of Congress who were informed of them or knew about them or approved them or encouraged them, wouldn't they also be appropriate parts of such an investigation?" Alexander said.

"Our desire is not to do anything that would be perceived as political, as partisan. We do want to look forward to the extent that we can do that," Holder said.

But he added, "to the extent that we see violations of those laws, we'll take the appropriate actions." (Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Steve Holland, Editing by Paul Simao)

[Mme. Defarge]

1. I really think (hope)

the administration is playing it very cool, and waiting until the only obvious and legitimate course of action is to prosecute those who have violated laws.

[babylonsister]

2. That's my hope also, Mme. nt