Justice Department report reveals lawyers’ roles in Bush torture policy

Memos released this week reveal that during the Bush Administration, congressional leaders blocked attempts to oversee the CIA program of torture and rendition and knew about the agency's plan to destroy video tapes of interrogation sessions. The documents were released on Monday as a result of a FOIA request by several human rights groups, including the Center for Constitutional Rights.

This follows a report from the Justice Department last week, that found that the lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who served in the department under Bush, engaged in "professional misconduct" when they authored memos justifying the use of torture on detainees. The report by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility was made public last Friday. The so-called torture memos paved the way for the widespread use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation and psychological abuse. It also helped set the strategy for the creation of the Guantanamo Bay Prison. And, according to the report, John Yoo told investigators that the president's authority in a time of war was so broad that he could order civilians to be “massacred.”

To discuss the recent report, we're joined by Vincent Warren executive director for the Center for Constitutional Rights.