The responses from elected officials are coming fast in the wake of the release of CIA torture report. Colorado U.S. Rep Jared Polis, a Democrat from Boulder, echoed sentiment expressed by watchdog organizations in demanding Congress react to the news by ramping up oversight of post- 9/11 agencies clearly steered offtrack by an intelligence culture gone rogue.
“The release of the Senate CIA torture report today reveals a dark and shameful chapter in American history,” Polis said in a release. “Under the guise of patriotism, the CIA conducted wholly un-American behavior that failed to secure our nation, but did much damage to our credibility and standing at home and abroad. The activities described in the report demonstrated a flagrant and frightening disregard for domestic and international law, offering a glimpse into the mindset of an agency that clearly believes it can play by a different set of rules.
“This report is a good first step towards bringing much needed accountability to our intelligence community, but it alone is not enough to change the culture that led to these lasting and continuous violations of international law and American values. I am calling for the House and Senate Intelligence Committees to double down on their oversight of the intelligence community to ensure that these types of activities never happen again and that those who work at the CIA and other intelligence agencies don’t trample on the very constitution they seek to protect.”
Some lawmakers are taking a different position toward the macabre story the torture document tells — and the way it is shocking the nation by detailing for the record actions long only tacitly acknowledged and often shrouded by bureaucratic and legalistic maneuvering.
Florida’s U.S. Senator and likely 2016 presidential hopeful Marco Rubio tweeted that agents listed in the report “deserve our thanks” and argued it was the torture report, not the actions of the agents, that would “place American lives in danger.”
Rubio’s tweet drew strong negative pushback on the social media platform.
