Senators Slam White House For CIA Torture Report Redactions That Make It 'Incomprehensible'
from the just-release-it dept
The fight over the redactions of the CIA's torture report continue. Last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein noted that she and her staff were somewhat taken aback by the amount of redacted information when they received back the black ink-drenched copy of the executive summary to the $40 million, 6,300 page "devastating" report on the CIA's torture program prepared by the Senate Intelligence Committee. In response, James Clapper shot back that the redactions were "minimal" and over 85% of the document was free from black ink (it's not clear if he was counting the margins as well...).Of course, as Marcy Wheeler has pointed out, this is just about the executive summary of the report -- which was specifically written to be published. In other words, the really "secret" stuff is in the rest of the report, but the 408 page exec summary was written with public disclosure in mind -- meaning that the Senate Intelligence Committee staffers certainly wrote it with the expectation that it would need few, if any, redactions. So the fact that large chunks of it were redacted immediately set off some alarms.
On Tuesday, multiple Senators on the Intelligence Committee spoke out angrily about the redactions. It kicked off with Feinstein who noted that the review her staff went through of the redactions shows that the censors are trying to hide information that should be public:
“After further review of the redacted version of the executive summary, I have concluded the redactions eliminate or obscure key facts that support the report’s findings and conclusions. Until these redactions are addressed to the committee’s satisfaction, the report will not be made public.Senator Carl Levin then came out with a much more strongly worded condemnation of the redactions suggesting that they were clearly designed to hide embarrassing information, which is not a legitimate reason for redactions:
“I am sending a letter today to the president laying out a series of changes to the redactions that we believe are necessary prior to public release. The White House and the intelligence community have committed to working through these changes in good faith. This process will take some time, and the report will not be released until I am satisfied that all redactions are appropriate.
“The bottom line is that the United States must never again make the mistakes documented in this report. I believe the best way to accomplish that is to make public our thorough documentary history of the CIA’s program. That is why I believe taking our time and getting it right is so important, and I will not rush this process.”
“The redactions that CIA has proposed to the Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA interrogations are totally unacceptable. Classification should be used to protect sources and methods or the disclosure of information which could compromise national security, not to avoid disclosure of improper acts or embarrassing information. But in reviewing the CIA-proposed redactions, I saw multiple instances where CIA proposes to redact information that has already been publicly disclosed in the Senate Armed Services Committee report on detainee abuse that was reviewed by the administration and authorized for release in 2009. The White House needs to take hold of this process and ensure that all information that should be declassified is declassified.”Senator Mark Udall issued a statement in which he notes that the "strategic" redactions are used to distort the nature of what's in the report:
"While Director Clapper may be technically correct that the document has been 85 percent declassified, it is also true that strategically placed redactions can make a narrative incomprehensible and can certainly make it more difficult to understand the basis for the findings and conclusions reached in the report. I agree wholeheartedly that redactions are necessary to protect intelligence sources and methods, but the White House must work closely with this committee to reach this goal in a way that makes it possible for the public to understand what happened.All three of those Senators are well aware of what's in the report, and it appears they recognize that the black ink was being used not to protect national security or "sources and methods" but rather to hide or distort the facts of the CIA's torture program.
"I am committed to working with Chairman Feinstein to declassify the Senate Intelligence Committee's study to the fullest extent possible, correct the record on the CIA's brutal and ineffective detention and interrogation program, and ensure the CIA learns from its past mistakes. And in light of the importance of the work the Senate Intelligence Committee has undertaken, I believe that the chairman should take all necessary time to ensure that the redactions to the executive summary are appropriate — not merely made to cover up acts that could embarrass the agency.
"The CIA should not face its past with a redaction pen, and the White House must not allow it to do so."
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Filed Under: carl levin, cia, dianne feinstein, james clapper, mark udall, odni, redactions, senate intelligence committee, torture report, white house
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Which was the entire point of the redactions, to undermine the findings and make them easy to dismiss, by redacting and removing any supporting evidence for them.
'The White House and the intelligence community have committed to working through these changes in good faith.'
Yeah, I'm sure, and if she honestly believes that, I've got some lunar real-estate she might be interested in purchasing.
Neither the WH nor the CIA will ever let the truly damning stuff see the light of day if they can at all help it, the only way it will ever go public is if someone either leaks the report and/or summery, or if one of the senators has the bravery to put it into the public records directly.
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As, no, please don't throw us (CIA) in that briar patch!
Sadly the required response should have been "Unless this resolved to our satisfaction by [date] we'll release it in it's unredacted entirety"
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The cia is just trying to stonewall until any media that happens to be interested in this report moves on to other things and forgets.
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I'm...kind of impressed, actually.
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Time for Sen Wyden to release the damn report completely unredacted.
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So, what else are they afraid we're going to find out?
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as for the Whitehouse, the conduct is deplorable! it is acting more like a military Juncter than a democratically elected administration. there may well be certain things that need to be kept close to chest but something like this needs to come out in the open! as for those in charge of the CIA when the torturing was taking place, they need to be brought up on charges! no one should be treated like that and it doesn't justify it just because 'the other side does it'!!
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This Make Me Ashamed of the US Government
Now, those responsible are hiding behind the "gallons of black ink" of redactions under the veil of "national security" to hide from the public the shameful acts that were done in our name.
THE HIGH COURT IS NOW IN SESSION AND WE ALL FIND OURSELVES INNOCENT. COURT ADJOURNED.
I hope it is so easy if I am ever in court.
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Re: This Make Me Ashamed of the US Government
TasMot,
It will be, however I think the decision might not go your way.
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That isn't how you get people who want to keep this from the public to fix an issue. Maybe change that to "This report is going out fully unredacted in 1 month unless the White House can submit an acceptably redacted version." How fast do you think the White House would react then?
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With what, Martial Law, Espionage charges, IRS audits, or a bunch of Vince Fosters?
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""While Director Clapper may be technically correct that the document has been 85 percent declassified, we also know he's a fucking liar."
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What's Feinstein up to?
What purpose does holding them back serve? None that I can see.
Even if you believe Feinstein is genuine about wanting to get this info out (which, given her track record, I don't), wouldn't it be illustrative to see the before and after versions, to see exactly what they were trying to hide?
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Re: What's Feinstein up to?
She is covering her flanks and she is making White House and CIA aware that even if they do not comply the first time, she will keep going. She is not making a grand stannding for the public. She is communicating with the White House and CIA, making them know that they will need a new tactic. Maybe she is giving them some level of stall, but eventually the pressure will mount.
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Re: What's Feinstein up to?
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Re: What's Feinstein up to?
The CIA over-censors the summary, Feinstein gets to "fight" them, and they will eventually give in and withdraw some of the trivial redactions. The Senator gets to look like she fought for transparency against the intelligence community, and Brennan and the CIA look like they're operating under the control of robust, effective oversight.
And, as many others have mentioned, senators like Udall and Wyden aren't given a sufficiently strong foothold in public opinion to justify reading the whole unredacted summary/report into the record.
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The plan is succeeding
So, the CIA will be punished for too much redacting by giving them exactly what they wanted in the first place: the suppression of the entire report?
That sounds like a plan. A really, really stupid plan.
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Re: The plan is succeeding
I'm sure the WH and the CIA are laughing their asses off right about now.
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The CIA has fought releasing this every step of the way, only to have control over it before it is released to the public merely tells you its' another stonewall in an attempt for Obama and company to get out of office before it is revealed, if it ever is. This is not about transparency and it never was. It's about stage show with an election coming up.
If this was serious in this gamemanship, the Senate Intelligence Committee would have set a date to have this redone with the threat if it was not the committee and not a single member alone, would release the whole thing unredacted. Everyone is playing political games on this one.
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LIES!
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Re: LIES!
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/s
*Just he minor stuff, like names, dates, what laws are being bent/broken, the fact that the report is about the Senate in the first place...
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I'm seriously disappointed that we won't get to see this version, so when the "less" redacted version comes out later we can all know exactly what they wanted to hide. Any chance the summary will be published with annotations on the original redactions? That would be fascinating, I'm sure.
Somebody please leak this.
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