Today, Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY-10), former Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, expressed his outrage over the practices described in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA interrogation methods.

“I am deeply disturbed, even disgusted, by the graphic scenes of torture described in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA ‘enhanced interrogation’ techniques. They provide further confirmation of what we have already known for years, that America committed horrific abuses during the 'War on Terror.' Press accounts have informed us about CIA black sites, 'renditions' of terrorism suspects to foreign countries, and multiple instances of mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay Prison.”  

“As I said first many years ago, torture is inconsistent with democratic principles of freedom and is a violation of the right to be free from cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment at the hands of the government. Waterboarding – one of the methods described in the report - has long been considered torture and committing or ordering torture is a severe crime under both international and U.S. laws. Moreover, torture has never proven to be more effective than other methods of interrogation and did not produce any blockbuster intelligence while in use.

“As these acts are violations of both American law and morality, we must hold those accountable and prevent such abuses from happening in the future. In 2009, I called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations of torture and have today joined with my colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee to advocate for a new round of hearings on the Senate CIA Torture report.

“I am also announcing today plans to reintroduce the American Anti-Torture Act of 2014, which would extend the Army Field Manual standards to all interrogations, ensuring that U.S. law has a single, uniform, baseline of treatment of prisoners. Additionally, the bill would clarify that interrogation techniques that are prohibited for use by the military’s own field manual on interrogations are similarly prohibited if used by the CIA or other government agencies. We must prohibit torture by law once and for all.”

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