Bush Failure To Disclose Waterboarding Appears To Violate Law

[BlueJessamine]

Source: Huffington Post

By Sam Stein

The furor over when and whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed about the use of waterboarding has distracted attention from what is, perhaps, a far more problematic revelation regarding the Bush administration's interrogation of suspected terrorists.

According to the testimony of two high-ranking Democrats and recently declassified CIA and Justice Department documents, the Bush White House failed to disclose the use of waterboarding until roughly half a year after it was first deployed. Other writers -- notably Marcy Wheeler -- have picked up on this timeline. But it is worth restating and highlighting again because, if accurate, it appears to constitute a violation of law by the former White House.

As documented by the Congressional Research Service, the President is required to ensure "that the congressional intelligence committees are kept 'fully and currently informed' of U.S. intelligence activities, including any 'significant anticipated intelligence activity.'" The basis of this is the 1991 Intelligence Authorization Act, which places a statutory obligation on the President to not just keep relevant committees "fully and currently informed" but to disclose "any significant anticipated intelligence activity."

"The requirement to report significant anticipated activities means, in practice, that the committees should be advised of important new program initiatives and specific activities that have major foreign policy implications," reads language accompanying the FY 1991 Intelligence Authorization Act.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/12/bush-failure-to-disclose_n_202107.html

[opihimoimoi]

1. Bushie Boy is slowly twistin in the wind......

[aquart]

2. Yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it?

I want him to die in jail. Let his wife collect his pension.

[republicansarewhores]

3. Yawn.

So tired reading this every day.

The Justice Department needs to shit or get off the pot. What the fuck is taking them so long with Swingin' Dick Cheney shooting his big mouth off every week on "Press the Meat?

RAW

[Soylent Brice]

5. !!

:rofl:

[Soylent Brice]

4. okay. can we prosecute NOW?

i swear i ask this fucking question once a week at least.

[Metta]

6. Duh, everything about is illegal. Will this add to accountablity or white wash?

We'll see, won't we.

[Catshrink]

7. If the President does it, it's not illegal.

Oh, and Miss Caliphonyboobs gets to keep her crown. And the Duggars are having a grandchild. And Bristol is promoting abstinence. And Joe the Plumber is leaving the Republican party. And ChEEEney has more love for Rush than Powell. And Susan Boyle got a makeoever. There, that about covers it. Updates at 10.

[Solly Mack]

8. Imagine that...Bush...breaking the law

Someone will accuse him of lying next

OMG! Bush broke the law by not mentioning he was waterboarding! Holy Shit! If only he had mentioned he was torturing people! Everything would have been so different!

Add it to the already existing list of laws broken and see how it plays...

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. Isn't this a DUH moment?

:shrug:

[Blandocyte]

10. Yes, it *still* does appear that way

after all this time. Hmmm. Go figyah.

[polmaven]

11. "distracted attention"

is exactly what was intended.

[DebbieCDC]

12. Wake me up when somebody fucking does something about this

Until then :boring:

[opihimoimoi]

13. Ever so slowly them wheels of Justice is a turnin...Bush must feel like Nixon did...any moment now,

they will connect the dots and appoint a SP to learn the TRUTH...which will set us free from the Effects of the BushCo.

[santamargarita]

14. Is there a law this asshole hasn't broken?

:think:

[No Elephants]

15. Failed to disclose for six months means it was disclosed at some point. So, what did Congress do

when it did find out? Nothing. The same nothing it would have done six months earlier. This is stupid.