http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/torture/cheneys-request-for-torture-intel-denied-but-he-can-appeal/The Plum LineGreg Sargent's blog
Cheney’s Request For Torture Intel Denied — But He Can Appeal
Dick Cheney’s request for classified torture intel — DENIED.
I’ve confirmed The Weekly Standard report today that the Obama administration has turned down Dick Cheney’s request for the declassifying of two intel documents that he said would prove torture worked.
The Standard quoted from a letter from the CIA to the National Archives, which was processing Cheney’s request, saying that the docs in question were at the center of a Freedom of Information battle, and thus wouldn’t be released.
I’ve got a copy of the letter, and you can read it right here (at link).
So is this all over? Nope. We may still see the documents. That’s because the letter says he has the option to appeal. And there’s always the possibility that the FOIA fight could be resolved.
It will be interesting to see if Cheney makes another push for the letter. Recall that Senator Russ Feingold said yesterday that there was nothing in the letter that proves Cheney’s point. If it’s never released, of course, Cheney can keep saying it proves what he says it does, and no one will ever know the difference.
More on this soon.