The U.S. Justice Department issued secret memos in October 2007 that authorized the CIA to implement harsh interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, when questioning suspected terrorists. The memos were released to the public on April 16, 2009.
Included in the memos was evidence that then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice had verbally cleared the CIA's request to use waterboarding against alleged Al Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah. The memos revealed that Rice likely had more involvement with the Bush administration-cleared torture methods than she had testified in written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee in Fall 2008.Salon.com: As Bush adviser, Rice delivered OK to waterboard
Waterboarding Memo
On July 24, 2008, a released 18-page memo, with ten pages blacked out, indicated that "the waterboard", or simulated drowning, does "not violate the Torture Statute," according to the U.S. Justice Department. The documents were made public by the American Civil Liberties Union and conveyed that interrogators would be safe from anti-torture prosecution if they acted in good faith.CNN: Previously Secret Torture Memo Released (July 24, 2008)
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Fast Facts
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Released by the American Civil Liberties Union
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Memos were originally drawn up in 2002
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Justice Department was led by then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
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Memos included signed documents by former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee and former CIA Director George Tenet
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18-page document
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Were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act
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Obama will not prosecute any CIA interrogators who employed the tactics outlined in the memos
