http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/10/95033/2181/104/493151"the ABC story notes the Justice Dept. had issued a 'top secret' memo declaring the "enhanced" torture methods to be legal such a ruling, on the supposed legality of the torture methods, does not indicate that the "authorization" Tenet referred to came from the Justice Department. Indeed, evidence points rather to the National Security Council and the White House....
"The suggestion inherent to ABC's coverage is that the Justice Department and also the National Security Council operate as independent or qausi independent branches of government, somehow autonomous from presidential control. That is wildly misleading.
As George E. Lowe has informed me this is not how the NSC works - the NSC does not operate independently from the president. The president chairs NSC meetings and he signs off on NSC resolutions. ......."