AP source: Holder considering torture probe

[cal04]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090712/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_holder_interrogations

Attorney General Eric Holder is considering whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation practices, a controversial move that would run counter to President Barack Obama's wishes to leave the issue in the past.

Holder plans to make a final decision within the next few weeks, a Justice Department official told The Associated Press on Saturday night. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on a pending matter.

Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said Holder planned to "follow the facts and the law."

"We have made no decisions on investigations or prosecutions, including whether to appoint a prosecutor to conduct further inquiry," he said. "As the attorney general has made clear, it would be unfair to prosecute any official who acted in good faith based on legal guidance from the Justice Department."

(snip)
Newsweek magazine, which first reported the development on Saturday, said Holder was aware of the political implications of having a probe and preferred not to create unnecessary trouble for the White House. Still, the attorney general was troubled by what he learned in reports about the treatment of prisoners at the CIA's "black sites."

[HughMoran]

1. dupe

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. "The official spoke on the condition of anonymity..."

Where have I heard that before?

[Occam Bandage]

3. Er, in most every news story in the last half-century?

Anonymity is safety.