Reply #7: Text of Senator Feingold's letter to President Obama - 4/22/08

[slipslidingaway]

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to convey my views on legal matters related to the CIA detention and
interrogation program. As you have stated so clearly, the program violated our
national values and undermined our national security, and I strongly support your
decision to end it. I am also convinced that the program was illegal, as designed
and as implemented. I thus welcomed the recent declassification and release of the
Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memoranda, which
demonstrated to the public the clear absence of any reasonable legal justifications
for the authorized interrogation techniques -- techniques which are, in fact, torture.

In recent days, you and members of your administration have made comments
related to possible prosecutions of those responsible for designing and
implementing the program. These comments have prompted much debate in the
media and among elected officials, including me. Out of respect for the serious
approach you have taken to addressing tp.ese difficult questions, I would like to
offer my views to you directly.

First, I welcomed your statement on Tuesday indicating that you had not ruled out
prosecutions of those who authorized or provided legal justifications for the
interrogations. As the OLC documents make clear, the details of this program
were authorized at the highest levels, which is where the need for accountability is
most acute. I hope that the Department of Justice will fully investigate this matter
and determine whether such prosecutions are appropriate. Second, I urge you not
to rule out prosecutions of those who implemented the program. While I
understand your motivation to protect those who may have relied in good faith on
OLC guidance, I believe that blanket assurances are premature. I urge your
administration to wait to consider the findings of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence's review of the program, and the Department of Justice's


April 22, 2009
Page2

investigation, before making any decisions related to prosecutions of any persons
involved in these interrogations.

Finally, in March, I expressed my support for the independent commission of
inquiry proposed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy. If we are to
ensure that this dark chapter in our history is never repeated, it is critical that the
facts are provided to the public, a process you have begun with the declassification
of the OLC memos. I continue to support the establishment of a commission,
although I believe such an effort must not impede or delay the review of the Senate
Intelligence Committee or any investigation by the Department of Justice, and that
extreme caution be exercised in considering any grants of immunity.

I appreciate this opportunity to convey my views and look forward to working with
you and your administration on this critically important matter. Your commitment
to the rule of law is not only welcome, it is crucial to the future of our democracy.