Yesterday's Newsweek profile introduced us to the idea that Attorney General Eric Holder is "leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices".
The profile ends with a description of Holder clearing two days from his schedule, and holing up in his office to read a CIA inspector general's special review about interrogation abuse. Holder read the report twice.
The first time as a lawyer, looking for evidence and instances of transgressions that might call for prosecution. The second time, he started to absorb what he was reading at a more emotional level. He was "shocked and saddened," he told a friend, by what government servants were alleged to have done in America's name.
There is a confluence of red-purple-black contusions surrounding the torso between the breasts and the costal margin, with some sparring of the mid back. A few satellite contusions, up to 2-inches in greatest dimension are associated with this large area of contusion. The posterior aspect of this large area of contusion is deep purple in color and the upper posterior-lateral aspect of this area is yellow-black in color. A distinct 5 x 4-inch area of ecchymosis is on the lateral aspect of the left mid chest. Two distinct 1-1/2 x 1-inch contusions are at the right posterior-lateral edge of the large area of contusion.
There is abundant hemorrhage into the muscle and adipose tissue of the anterior chest wall. The right chest wall has fractures of ribs three through seven anteriorly and ribs six through twelve posteriorly. The left chest wall has fractures of ribs two through nine anteriorly and ribs seven through twelve posteriorly. There are fractures of the lateral aspect of ribs nine and ten on the left side. Fifty-milliliters of blood are in each pleural cavity and many of the rib fractures are displaced and associated with pleural lacerations. Both lungs have scattered contusions but no lacerations are noted. There is a horizontal fracture through the mid portion of the body of the sternum.
A small area of hemorrhage is present in the left andrenal gland. No injuries to the kidneys are noted. Scattered areas of hemorrhage are noted in the mesentery of the large and small bowel.
--Final Autopsy Report
This guy, captured in Iraq in January 2004, was very brutally beaten. He was questioned by OGA. He was shackled to the top of a doorframe, with a gag placed in his mouth.
Presumably, he already had the many displaced fractures of his ribs at the time of the shackling from the door. Presumably, while shackled and gagged, he had already already been beaten all around his torso, bad enough to injure his bowels and break his sternum.
Presumably, while held in the standing stress position, his pants were already covered in shit, as the medical examiner describes him.
His lungs were "deep red-purple". Another autopsy has the deep red-purple lung thing. As I understand it, this could be from blood clots from the beating causing damage to the lungs, and/or damage to the lungs from long periods in stress positions that cut off oxygen.
The CIA IG Special Review
I don't know for sure that Eric Holder became acquainted with the story of Asad Abdul Kareem Abdul Jaleel during Holder's time spent holed up reading the CIA IG special review. The currently available version of the special review is too heavily redacted to know whether Jaleel is in it. It is possible, by timing.
Jaleel died on January 9, 2004. Army CID investigated the death. Spiegal TV says there was an eyewitness to the abuse. That photos were taken while it was happening. That according to the death certificate, Jaleel was claimed to have died in his sleep.
The above-quoted final autopsy report is dated April 30, after the CID investigation. The CIA IG special review is dated May 7, 2004.
Jane Mayer tells us that the IG was investigating the homicides of at least three prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. The special review is thought to discuss some homicide cases. Manadel al-Jamadi is one. This death is, perhaps, another.
After the IG report, Dick Cheney called in Inspector General John Helgerson to discuss it.
After the IG report, CIA referred a number of homicide cases to DOJ.
Release of a less heavily redacted version of the special review, after multiple delays now scheduled for August 31, is in the hands of Holder's Department of Justice.
As are those unpursued homicide referrals from 2004.
As is the story of what exactly happened, that those referrals were never pursued.