Democrats grill Bush CIA nominee about detainees (Reuters)

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Democrats grill Bush CIA nominee about detainees
Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:37PM EDT

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's pick for
top CIA legal officer came under fire from Senate Democrats on
Tuesday for his role in an interrogation and detention program
that brought accusations of torture against the United States.

John Rizzo, White House nominee for CIA general counsel, told
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he issued a
legal opinion in 2002 stipulating that CIA detainee practices
were lawful under international treaties against torture,
including the Geneva Conventions.

But the career CIA lawyer also said he did not oppose an
August 2002 Justice Department memo that said torture would
not occur unless the detainee experienced pain serious enough
to accompany organ failure or death.

-snip-

Rizzo was unwilling to speak freely about CIA policies including
secret prisons, interrogation techniques and the transfer of
detainees to countries that human rights advocates say
employ torture techniques.

The hearing continued behind closed doors. But his public
testimony, at times limited to one and two-word answers,
stirred misgivings among committee Democrats.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1919827120070619