Conyers Renews Call for Investigation of Bush Administration Actions

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) today issued not one but two press releases responding to the latest batch of Bush-era Office of Legal Counsel torture memos produced yesterday by the Justice Department in response to Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Conyers, More…

What Does It Mean to ‘Shock the Conscience?’

Assuming for the sake of argument that the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment does apply to U.S. conduct outside of U.S. territory, (though as I noted before the Office of Legal Counsel  lawyers thought it did NOT), the May 30, More…

Slamming a Prisoner’s Head Repeatedly Against a Wall Isn’t That Bad, Either

It’s called “walling” by the CIA.  As described in the International Committee of the Red Cross report obtained by Mark Danner, this technique involves placing a collar around the prisoner’s neck and using it to slam him repeatedly against a wall.

According to Steven Bradbury, however, “[a]lthough the walling technique More…

Torture Isn’t Illegal If It’s Done Overseas

Here are some highlights from the May 30, 2005 memo from former Office of Legal Counsel director Steven Bradbury:

1) The Convention Against Torture does not apply outside the United States, or anywhere where the US does not have de facto control: hence, it does not apply to CIA “black More…