Conyers and Nadler Applaud Appointment of Special Prosecutor

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) issued the following statements in response to the Department of Justice decision to appoint a special prosecutor to review certain cases of alleged abuse of detainees.

"I applaud the attorney general’s decision to appoint a special US attorney to review interrogation abuse cases rejected for prosecution by George Bush’s Justice Department," said Conyers. "The Obama administration also deserves praise for the release of the 2004 CIA inspector general report as well as related DOJ memos.  These materials are truly disturbing, including the CIA’s basic conclusion that ‘unauthorized, improvised, inhumane, and undocumented detention and interrogation techniques were used’ in its program. Reading about misdeeds such as threats to kill a detainee’s children or the staging of mock executions leaves us appalled.

Today’s release – even of these still heavily redacted materials – is thus an important step toward restoring the rule of law in this country, and rebuilding our credibility around the world. But much more remains to be done. The gruesome acts described in today’s report did not happen in a vacuum. It would not be fair or just for frontline personnel to be held accountable while the policymakers and lawyers escape scrutiny after creating and approving conditions where such abuses were all but inevitable to occur.

"I have long believed that department rules require a special counsel to review the entire interrogation program to determine if any crimes were committed. An independent and bipartisan commission should also be convened to evaluate the broader issues raised by the Bush administration’s brutal torture program."

"The CIA inspector general’s report on interrogation practices under the Bush administration is a disturbing record of abuse that details why this must never happen again and why action on the part of the Justice Department is essential," said Nadler. "Today’s news that the attorney general has listened to our many requests and is poised to appoint a special counsel is very much welcome.  I applaud the attorney general for this first step.  But, we must go further. As I have said for many months, it is vital that this special counsel be given a broad mandate to investigate these abuses, to follow the evidence where it leads, and to prosecute where warranted. This must be a robust mission to gather any and all evidence where it leads, and to prosecute where warranted. Seeking out only the low-level actors in a conspiracy to torture detainees will bring neither justice nor restored standing to our nation."