2004 CIA Inspector General Torture Report's Release Delayed Again

2004 CIA Inspector General Torture Report's Release Delayed Again

It was supposed to be a magical day: the day when, in response to an agreement reached in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Obama administration will declassify an important document in the history of its predecessor's apparatus of torture. I refer to the 2004 inquest undertaken by ex-CIA Inspector General John Helgerson into the CIA's interrogations and detentions programs. The Bush administration released an almost-totally-redacted version in May 2008, and despite the Obama administration's pledge to disclose a more-detailed version of the document, it punted the disclosure a week ago Friday to today. "We can only hope that this delay is a sign that the forces of transparency within the Obama administration are winning over the forces of secrecy and that the report will ultimately be released with minimal redactions," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said last week. "The CIA should not be permitted to use national security as a pretext for suppressing evidence of its own unlawful conduct."

Yeah, if only. The Obama administration won't release the document today. According to the ACLU, it's asked for a three-day reprieve. ACLU's consented. Game Day is now supposed to be July 1.

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