White House denies relaxing ban on torture

House Democrats want memos
The issue quickly became political fodder for Democrats.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., demanded that the Justice Department turn over the two memos and promised a congressional inquiry.

“Both the alleged content of these opinions and the fact that they have been kept secret from Congress are extremely troubling, especially in light of the department’s 2004 withdrawal of an earlier opinion similarly approving such methods,” Conyers, D-Mich., and Nadler wrote in a letter Thursday to Acting Attorney General Peter Keisler.

The two Democrats also asked that Steven Bradbury, the Justice Department’s acting chief of legal counsel, “be made available for prompt committee hearings.”

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, in a statement, said that “the secret authorization of brutal interrogations is an outrageous betrayal of our core values, and a grave danger to our security. We must do whatever it takes to track down and capture or kill terrorists, but torture is not a part of the answer — it is a fundamental part of the problem with this administration’s approach.”

Perino said the 2004 anti-torture opinion was a “broad and general” interpretation of the law and “the February 2005 one was different in that it was focused on specifics.” She defended the policies as necessary to protect the country.

“We know that these are ruthless individuals who will do anything, and that they’re very patient; that they’ll do anything to try to carry out their attacks,” Perino told reporters. “And this president has put in place — all within the foursquare corners of the law — tools in the global war on terror that we need.”

Second '05 opinion alleged
The February 2005 Justice opinion was followed later in 2005 by another one, just as Congress was working on an anti-torture bill, secretly declaring that none of the CIA’s interrogation practices violated the new law’s standard against “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment, The Times said. The newspaper cited interviews with unnamed current and former officials.

The 2005 opinions approved by Gonzales remain in effect despite efforts by Congress and the courts to limit interrogation practices used by the government in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Gonzales resigned last month under withering criticism from congressional Democrats and a loss of support among members of his own party.

The authorizations came after the withdrawal of an earlier classified Justice opinion, issued in 2002, that had allowed certain aggressive interrogation practices so long as they stopped short of producing pain equivalent to experiencing organ failure or death. That controversial memo was withdrawn in June 2004.

More from msnbc.com Scoop: Woods’ wife reportedly gets new prenup Red Tape: Hidden fees more annoying than dog poop  Amid recession, meth menace rages  |   Video So, what is the actual surge strategy? Party crashers' e-mails gush with gratitude Williams marks 5 years as Nightly News anchor On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM SECURITY

Security Section Front

Some in crew blame captain in pirate raid Blackwater founder feels jilted by leaks Mexico raids underground tunnel into U.S. 9/11 families mixed on Afghan surge Tracking smugglers along the Mexican border Security Section Front   Add Security headlines to your news reader: