Senate’s CIA Probe Already Finished Looking at Two Detainees

Created: April 20, 2009 17:38 | Last updated: July 31, 2020 00:00

In a just-released letter urging President Obama not to make any public pronouncements about who should and shouldn’t be prosecuted for torture until the Senate intelligence committee completes its review of the CIA’s interrogation and detention program, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the committee’s chairwoman, released an interesting piece of information:

A study of the first two detainees has already been completed and will shortly be before the committee.

I’m not entirely clear on who “the first two detainees” are, but if Feinstein means the first two detainees to have been subjected to the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation program,” at least one of them is Abu Zubaydah, the al-Qaeda detainee captured in Pakistan in 2002 whom had his very own interrogation regimen designed for him and approved by the Office of Legal Counsel. It’s also unclear if there will be any public hearings about the CIA program as the committee continues its review.

Here’s Feinstein’s full letter:

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to respectfully request that comments regarding holding individuals accountable for detention and interrogation related activities be held in reserve until the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is able to complete its review of the conditions and interrogations of certain high value detainees.

This study is now underway, and I estimate its completion within the next six to eight months. A study of the first two detainees has already been completed and will shortly be before the committee.

Sincerely Yours,

Dianne Feinstein

United States Senator

Phil Zelikow, a former top aide to ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and staff director of the 9/11 Commission, made the same point in a Shadow Government post today.