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December 15, 2014

Torture Memo Author: Abuses May Have Violated Law, But Weren't Authorized 
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While Dick Cheney defended the CIA's abuses, the Bush official who
authored the legal memos behind the torture program admitted some CIA
agents may have violated the law. But speaking to CNN, John Yoo also
said torture methods such as forced rectal feeding, violent threats and
week-long sleep deprivation were never authorized — and at the
same time, he does not trust Senate investigators to confirm they were
used.

John Yoo: "Well, those are very troubling examples. They would not have
been approved by the Justice Department—they were not approved by the
Justice Department at the time. But I have to question whether they're
true, because I can't take at face value the committee's report, because
there were no Republicans involved. But I agree. Look, Fareed, I agree
with you. If these things happened as they're described in the report,
as you describe them, those were not authorized by the Justice
Department. They were not supposed to be done, and those people who did
those are at risk legally because they were acting outside their
orders."

 

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