General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: ACLU: "Comey approved some of the worst abuses committed by the Bush administration" [View all]ucrdem
(15,512 posts)And evidently Comey urgently advised him not to, even though Gonzo was under heavy pressure from the White House. From an April 28, 2005, Comey e-mail to a Chuck Rosenburg describing a phone call from a Ted Ullyot about an upcoming WH meeting between Gonzo, Rice, Dumya and Darth regarding "interrogations," later published in NYT:
http://static1.firedoglake.com/28/files//2009/06/050427-comey-emails-compressed.pdf
There's more at the link but regarding this particular episode it seems Cheney in particular was muscling the DOJ to sign off on a fig leaf, Gonzo buckled, and Comey explicitly advised him not to. At least that's how it looks to me. Who knows what ACLU's beef is today. It would help if they identified their "publicly available evidence," but they don't:
Specifically, the publicly available evidence indicates Comey signed off on enhanced interrogation techniques that constitute torture, including waterboarding. He also oversaw the indefinite detention without charge or trial of an American citizen picked up in the United States and then held for years in a military brig.
http://www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-comment-possible-nomination-james-b-comey-fbi-director
Bottom line: the ACLU memo looks a little fishy. Comey and a Patrick Philbin apparently did NOT approve the techniques and also didn't attend the meeting where Gonzo gave the green light.