CIA chief John Brennan and Sen. Dianne Feinstein confer shortly before his
nomination was confirmed by the Senate.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
said Tuesday that the 480-page summary of the 6,300-page report on torture and rendition by the Central Intelligence Agency will not be released until the White House changes certain redactions in the document:
“After further review of the redacted version of the executive summary, I have concluded the redactions eliminate or obscure key facts that support the report’s findings and conclusions. Until these redactions are addressed to the committee’s satisfaction, the report will not be made public.
“I am sending a letter today to the president laying out a series of changes to the redactions that we believe are necessary prior to public release. The White House and the intelligence community have committed to working through these changes in good faith. This process will take some time, and the report will not be released until I am satisfied that all redactions are appropriate.
“The bottom line is that the United States must never again make the mistakes documented in this report. I believe the best way to accomplish that is to make public our thorough documentary history of the CIA’s program. That is why I believe taking our time and getting it right is so important, and I will not rush this process.”
Last week, Feinstein expressed disappointment over the redactions in the summary just as critics had expressed their own disappointment upon learning four months ago that only an edited summary and not an edited version of the torture report itself would be publicly released.
It's been previously noted that the torture report will not include the word "torture," despite the president's own use of that term.
There is more below the fold.
It's not known what exactly was redacted. Andrew Hart reported last week that James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, said the omitted parts were crucial to maintaining national security:
“More than 85% of the Committee Report has been declassified, and half of the redactions are in footnotes,” Clapper said. “We are confident that the declassified document delivered to the Committee will provide the public with a full view of the Committee’s report on the detention and interrogation program, and we look forward to a constructive dialogue with the Committee."
The McClatchy news service
reported:
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., a member of the committee who’s been fiercely critical of the CIA interrogation program, also decried the blackouts, saying President Barack Obama had pledged to ensure a release of the findings.
“I am concerned about the excessive redactions Chairman Feinstein referenced in her statement, especially given the president’s unequivocal commitment to declassifying the Senate Intelligence Committee’s study,” Udall said. “I promised earlier this year to hold the president to his word and I intend to do so.”
Udall vowed to work with Feinstein to declassify the findings “to the fullest extent possible, correct the record on the CIA’s brutal and ineffective detention and interrogation program, and ensure the CIA learns from its past mistakes.”
It's been clear for a long time that many at the CIA, including the top guy, don't consider a lot of its most egregious past behavior to be "mistakes." That's something we can all agree on. "Mistake" is far too gentle a critique.