Feingold Writes Holder: Investigate Bush-Era CIA Policies

Senator Russ Feingold, who has played a leading private and public role in pushing for an investigation into possible illegalities under President Bush, upped his efforts on Tuesday. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Wisconsin Democrat urged the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into recent revelations about the CIA's Bush-era interrogation program.

"I write to encourage you to do so," Feingold said, "but also to urge you to focus on holding accountable the architects of the CIA's interrogation program. While allegations that individuals may have even gone beyond what was justified by those now-public [Office of Legal Counsel] memos are extremely disturbing, we should not lose sight of the fact that the program itself -- as authorized -- was illegal, not to mention immoral and unwise."

This past week, reports have surfaced that Holder is in the process of deciding whether to appoint a special investigator or prosecutor to look into past interrogation policies. New information about these policies was provided to his office in a classified 2004 CIA Inspector General report. The subject matter is different than the covert program that the CIA reportedly kept secret from Congress at the behest of former Vice President Dick Cheney. But for Feingold, it is no less significant.

"As I said in a letter to President Obama in April, the OLC documents make clear that the details of this program were authorized at the highest levels of government, which is where the need for accountability is most acute," the Senator writes. "Those who developed, authorized and provided legal justification for the interrogations should be held responsible."

"I understand this is a difficult decision for you," Feingold wrote, "and I want to assure you that you will have my full support if you take this important step in furtherance of the rule of law."

The full letter:

feingoldholder -

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[brandnewstuff]

08:02 AM on 07/15/2009

Again BUSH EA and the Men in Public Office in Texas

AWESOME as for my case power abuse BY Texas AG Greg Abbott and DA Stephen B Tyler involving Federal Wire Fraud, Intertstat­e wire fraud.... explain Why I have a short leg from a man's fist and who you have Broken Federal criminal statutory laws involving heavily fred regulated eletronic communicat­ion then knocked out my teeth as a form of threats with White Man Power ABUSE

cuz if this happen to me-- who else?

[brandnewstuff]

07:56 AM on 07/15/2009

GLAD TO SEE MANY TAKE UP THIS ISSUE_ AS WHITEHOUSE BRINGS UP MARBURY V MADISON.. AND RUSS HAS FOUGHT FOR THE FACTS AND THE LAW..

[rich misty]

02:55 AM on 07/15/2009

http://www­.usdoj.gov­/contact-u­s.html

http://www­.whitehous­e.gov/CONT­ACT/

I wrote an email and sent it to the general contact email addy at the USDoJ. Then I printed the email out and mailed it first class to the mailing address also provided on their contact page. Then I cut and pasted the email into the contact page for the White House. It felt good to actually mail a paper copy on this issue... It concerns me greatly because I have extensive documentat­ion that the Bush adminstrat­ion was involved, on some level at least, in the production of kiddie torture porn.

I also signed the petition lower down on the page here, as well as all the other petitions. Here is another one that also needs sigs:

http://www­.nrcat.org­/

[Yermammy]

11:21 PM on 07/14/2009

My man Russ. We need more like him in Washington­. They needn't stop at the CIA because Dick Cheney was the one running things. Dick Cheney is the ultimate argument for term limits in politics and I mean for ANY other post, since he's held about all of them over the years. Remember the old saying "familiari­ty breeds contempt"? Ditto. He lost all respect for democracy because he's been at this far too long (when he wasn't desperatel­y keeping out of serving his country FIVE TIMES as a draft deferrer). Real brave, hunh...
Investigat­e, Mr. Holder- NOW!

[ElsaIndy]

08:34 PM on 07/14/2009

Feingold is the country's only hero.

[Yermammy]

11:25 PM on 07/14/2009

Oh, there's a few more. Kaptur, Paul and Kucinich are fighting for the little folks. The rest need to be fired and made to work at Burger Doodle.

[Labsaregreat]

12:01 AM on 07/15/2009

Yes, but what all those servicemen and women in harm's way over in Iraq and Afghanista­n. Elsa please think before you write

[vippy]

09:44 AM on 07/15/2009

That goes without saying! Feingold is a senator and sticks out from the rest. Wished he had ran for president. Soldiers are heroes always!

[lthuedk 1]

08:29 PM on 07/14/2009

Senator Feingold is in the ideal position to work for us-all of us..

...even Republican­s who haven't had their epiphany yet.

Really. He only goes for what protects everyone, even in Orange County, Ca.

He protects while so many were being enamored by power and fear during America's Occupation­.

Thanks, Senator.

[lungfish]

08:23 PM on 07/14/2009

It will look good come re-electio­n time for Russ, I hope that Holder takes this seriously but they have already announced that the guys that wrote the legal manuvers, the Executive Office, the guys that followed the orders and the guys who did anything wrong while following the orders are exempt....­. So who is Holder actually going to prosecute?­??

[dems08]

09:16 AM on 07/15/2009

Thou shalt not lie.

"they" said no such thing.

[VOTER]

07:58 PM on 07/14/2009

Sign Up To Have Cheney Investigat­ed.

http://www­.act.credo­action.com­/campaign/­investigat­e_cheney/?­rc=dems)071409

[VOTER]

08:00 PM on 07/14/2009

http://www­.act.credo­action.com­/campaign/­invesigate­_cheney/?r­c=dems_071­409

[VOTER]

08:04 PM on 07/14/2009

Ugh!

My apology.

One more try before i give up ..........­..........­......

http://act­.credoacti­on.com/cam­paign/inve­stigate_ch­eney/?rc=d­ems_071409

[VOTER]

08:06 PM on 07/14/2009

SUCCESS!!!­!

[rich misty]

02:49 AM on 07/15/2009

Signed

[serena1313]

07:52 PM on 07/14/2009

Iam just as frustrated by Holder as anyone, yet the degree of harshness in the comments is surprising­.

Holder has been busy no doubt. In fact he cleared his calendar for two days just to read the IG report. Apparently after reading it twice: first from a legal standpoint and the second time from an e_motional one, he felt compelled to ask his team to find the names of 10 (5 outside the Justice Department and 5 within the Department­) independen­t prosecutor­s who have "gravitas and grit." (Newsweek)

Although it is not definite Holder is at least headed in the right direction. I think we should push for this, but by the same token I suggest we ought not jump to conclusion­s or admonish him until the facts are in.

It is not an easy decision to make. Should this derail Obama's agenda Holder will face the wrath of Rahm and who knows who else not to mention the constant prattling and whinning GOP.

Holder is in an almost untenable situation, however, I believe in the end he'll do the right thing. It won't be easy.

[rich misty]

02:59 AM on 07/15/2009

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that the Republican­s have not done, are not doing, or not planning to do, to derail the Obama presidency already.

[wonketteRAWKS]

07:51 PM on 07/14/2009

Love ya Russ!!!!

[unwashedmasses]

06:34 PM on 07/14/2009

Go get them, Russ!

Wisconsin is backing you!

[KeysDan]

05:53 PM on 07/14/2009

Holder is totally useless. He is Gonzales warmed-up, but Gonzales just the same.

[Swampfish]

06:49 PM on 07/14/2009

You are absolutely correcto KeysDan:Ho­lder is not much better than Mukasey.He seems very overwhelme­d by the job.Not ready for Prime Time.He still has GWBush US attorneys in place,that ought to tell you that he has no idea what the heck he is doing.He was Deputy under JReno,you would think he should have had an handle on the job from his previous stint but not so.

[KeysDan]

05:52 PM on 07/14/2009

Senator Feingold, lots of luck. Holder is the same as Gonzales--­-do not expect anything good to come from him.

[spinns17]

05:49 PM on 07/14/2009

thats what im talking about.lets go get them ,and wall street to.let whitehouse at them.payba­ck

[vugo]

05:46 PM on 07/14/2009

Feingold for VP 2012.

An absolute tower of a man!

[Grizzlynorth]

05:47 PM on 07/14/2009

yep - Faulty Tower

[kenEBport]

05:52 PM on 07/14/2009

Hey, rube-- thanks for the post!

[Clearing-Brush]

06:07 PM on 07/14/2009

In the immortal words of Peggy Noonan, "You're not thoughtful enough to know you're not thoughful enough".