Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,

On The Inspector General’s Report

On FBI Involvement With Detainees At Guantanamo Bay

May 20, 2008

 

“The Inspector General credits the FBI for maintaining a higher standard in the interrogation of detainees.  In a majority of circumstances, agents at the FBI appear to have adhered to a clear policy in the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I still wish that Director Mueller had been more forthcoming when I asked him about these matters at our May 2004 hearing.  Had he done so, he might have helped paved the way for Congress to investigate allegations of abuse sooner.  The Republican majority refused to subpoena documents relating to the interrogation and treatment of detainees.  The Bush administration has delayed four years in providing them.  This remains a sorry chapter in our nation’s history. 

 

“The Inspector General’s report raises troubling questions about whether other government agencies, including the Department of Defense, are following established policies for the treatment of detainees.  This Congress has long sought information about the treatment of detainees, including the history of the destruction of tapes detailing enhanced interrogations techniques used on detainees.  I expect the Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing after the recess about this disturbing issue.”

 

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