Two Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are requesting that the Justice Department’s internal watchdog investigate whether Bush Administration officials who authorized waterboarding are guilty of any crimes themselves.
Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) request comes as the CIA and White House finally admitted the use of waterboarding, and as Attorney General Michael Mukasey is standing with the Bush administration in refusing to open an investigation. The senators say that Mukasey’s refusal on grounds that the Justice Department had authorized the simulated drowning technique did not answer whether the authorizations themselves were legal.
(Original Article)