Rep. Jim McDermott's Statement on Torture Report

Statement

Today, Congressman Jim McDermott (WA-7) made the following statement regarding the report on the Central Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation policies.

"Thanks to the tireless work of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, her predecessor Senator Rockefeller, and the intrepid Committee staff, we now have an official, comprehensive, and damning report on the Central Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation policies.

The report brutally details the methods by which CIA personnel tortured detainees. After years of indefatigable Committee investigation, it is abundantly clear that the conditions of detainee confinement and interrogation were cruel, inhuman, and degrading.

I appreciate the need to conduct some of our national security actions in secret and I also believe there are many CIA personnel who find the contents of this report equally repugnant. However, the Intelligence Community's privilege to operate in secret does not allow for the violation of the laws and standards of the United States. When that privilege has been abused, it is the responsibility of Congress to shine a light on actions conducted in shadow and willfully concealed.

Building on legislation I introduced in 2009, I will continue to fight for the official codification of President Obama's Executive Order 13491, which brought an end to CIA "black sites" and "enhanced interrogation techniques," but which is not yet part of U.S. law. I also firmly believe the entire 6,700 page report should be fully declassified, which will undoubtedly be another uphill battle for transparency and intelligence reform.

The release of this report today may be controversial, but it is the right thing to do. We are a nation of laws, under which every person, friend or foe, must be treated fairly and humanely."

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