Donald Trump may select Jose Rodriguez, one of the primary architects of the George W. Bush torture program, to run the Central Intelligence Agency, according to a law firm with close ties to Trump.
Rodriguez, the former director of the National Clandestine Service, helped developed the CIA black sites, secret prisons operated in foreign countries where interrogators used a range of torture tactics, including the use of “waterboarding,” the simulated drowning technique once used by the Khmer Rouge and Nazi agents to glean information from detainees.
At least 136 individuals were detained and tortured by the CIA. Interrogation tactics also included forced nudity, sleep deprivation while being vertically shackled, and confinement in a small box.
Rodriguez is unapologetic about his role in the program, telling 60 Minutes that “we did the right thing for the right reason,” even if it meant “going to the border of legality.”
The suggestion that Rodriguez may head the CIA was made in a post-election prediction document published by Dentons, a law and lobbying firm where Trump confidant Newt Gingrich serves as a senior advisor. Dentons was also retained by Make American Number 1, one of the primary Super PACs supporting Trump’s candidacy.
Dentons’s Public Policy and Regulation team, the division that employs Gingrich, published the prediction document. The firm did not respond to a request for comment.
Jose Rodriguez, the former director of the National Clandestine Service, at the National Press Club on Nov. 18, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Rodriguez not only crafted the Bush torture program, but played a key role in the cover up. Following revelations of the effort, Rodriguez worked directly to get rid of the evidence and destroyed 92 video tapes revealing the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times.
In destroying the tapes, Rodriguez claimed that he was simply protecting agents in the field from reprisals from terrorists. But as one declassified email noted, Rodriguez was in fact concerned about public backlash from the brutal visuals. “Heat from destroying is nothing compared to what it would be if the tapes ever got into [the] public domain — he said that out of context, they would make us look terrible; it would be ‘devastating’ to us,” the email noted.
Rodriguez has defended his tenure at the CIA, telling Amy Davidson of the New Yorker that his interrogation techniques were “sometimes harsh, but fell well short of what is torture.” Rodriguez argued that such methods were valid because they were reviewed by government lawyers and certain members of Congress were briefed.
Other former Bush officials may snag positions in the new Trump administration. Stephen Hadley, the former national security adviser to Bush and current board member to Raytheon, could serve as secretary of defense, the Dentons memo predicts. Chris Christie, a former prosecutor in Bush’s Department of Justice, may win an appointment as attorney general. Christie, notably, has staked much of his law enforcement claim to fame on his prosecution of three brothers over a plot to attack the Fort Dix military base. An investigation by The Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain revealed a range of problems in the prosecution, with much of the evidence supplied by highly paid informants who coerced the defendants into making vague statements that were later maliciously interpreted by prosecutors.
On CNN on Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a key Trump supporter on Capitol Hill and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, appeared to lay the groundwork for the return of waterboarding, claiming to host Wolf Blitzer that the technique “isn’t torture.” The International Committee of the Red Cross, which oversees the Geneva Conventions, declared in 2014 that the waterboarding meets the definition of torture under U.S. and international law.
Many on the left (activists and politicians) have wanted to prosecute someone from the Bush Administration regarding the War on Terror for a very long time and, still talk about it. Unfortunately for them, the EIT Program was created and authorized for use by the highest levels government. Everybody knew about it. This includes the President, the Vice President and key members of Congress (both Democrats and Republicans). The CIA Director and Mr. rodriguez briefed Congress on a regular basis. Even the destruction of the tapes was legal. Mr. Rodriguez had the authority to do so and I accept his rationale for doing so. The problem with this discussion is that it is occurring today. After 911 the CIA was very concerned about a second and third wave of attacks on the U.S and Europe. The CIA was under a lot of pressure from our lawmakers to save American lives. The actions of the CIA accomplished just that. What we can do is learn from our mistakes as the “War on Terror” presented a unique challenge to us all.
The power will be turned over to the liberal people. Trump can be executed as I’m aware of mistakes he will likely make to cover up and engage in extreme war crimes- he probably already knows about and condones.
Imagine the worst kind of warcrimes against the world imaginable that will occur under his administration..
http://www.drrobertduncan.com/dr-robert-duncans-neuropsychological-and-electronic-no-touch-torture-report.html
CIA torture should and will get people executed..
As a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), I was invited to a luncheon to listen to Jose Rodriguez. I did much research on the task assigned to him and wrote a synopsis of my research on the EIT’s. I’d like to share:
http://osintdaily.blogspot.com/2014/12/torture-report-needs-prudent-media.html
As I am a former member of AFIO, you really don’t want to know what I think of your article.
“EIT”… It sound so surgical, benign, and even antiseptic… does it not?
“Enhanced Interrogation Technique” still sounds surgical, benign, and antiseptic… does it not?
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques = Torture of suspects (Screeech!!!!). Fucking what???
Appropriate response to terror threat from unknown source: Kidnapping and transporting Muslim suspects to Black Interrogation Sites where they could be tortured mercilessly for an indefinite period of time.
Usually begins with the violent rendering of Suspects = kidnapping
The indefinite detention and torture of suspects was accomplished by executive order that allowed for the suspension of due process rights
Black Interrogation Sites = Secret and legally unaccountable CIA torture dungeons
Plain translation of foregoing quote:
Although no grand jury has ever linked Osama bin Laden or al Qaeda to the WTC attacks of 911, we in the intelligence community believe that it was morally appropriate (AKA just desserts) to round up known American funded, and Saudi trained, Afghan-based “freedom fighters” and torture the living shit out of them until they implicated a major Saudi intelligence asset (bin Laden) in the attacks. This was especially important as bin Laden had already been identified (without a shred of evidence) as the prime suspect by the Bush administration and MSM as the mastermind of those attacks. And although it has been recently reported that the Saudi government was directly implicated in those attacks, we stand by our claim that torture is an effective mean to acquire timely and actionable intelligence.
Enhanced Interrogation Technique (In Part):
1. Sleep deprivation
2. Physical brutality
3. Binding in contorted stress positions
4. Hooding (Integral element of sensory deprivation)
5. Subjection to deafening noise (Integral element of sensory deprivation)
6. Sleep deprivation to the point of hallucination (a symptom of induced Psychosis)
7. Deprivation of food and drink (Induction of profound hunger and thirst)
8. Withholding of medical care for wounds which were often induced by the interrogators themselves
9. Waterboarding (repeated controlled drowning of suspect)
10. Walling (Suspects neck is encircled by a collar, and the collar is then used to repeatedly slam the person against a wall).
11. Sexual humiliation (Stripping and interrogating devout Muslims, Homosexual rape, Forcing suspects to fondle themselves and one another)
12. Subjection to extreme heat or extreme cold (Victims actually died of hypothermia)
13. Confinement in small coffin-like boxes (Induced claustrophobia)
14. Repeated slapping.
15. Subjected to unnecessary and humiliating medical procedures including : rectal rehydration, rectal fluid resuscitation, and rectal feeding.
16. Repeated threats to suspects and their families including threats to physically harm and sexually abuse their children and mothers.
17. Leaving Suspects to lay in their own waste for days at a time
18. Using dogs to bite and intimidate suspects
19. Hanging suspects in extremely painful ways that made it difficult for them to breath
The most beautiful part of the EIT elocution is that it leaves so much room for other things that any normal person would call “torture”. Intelligence agencies don’t have anything to fear from lying to Congress, but it still might trouble them some trifle – this way they can say “we’re doing no enhanced interrogation techniques at this facility”, and Congress moves on. They might be doing Personality Breakdown Protocols or Behavioral Modification Procedures or Jihadist Aversion Therapy, but Congress didn’t ask about that — or at least, their answer evaded it — and so nobody can even grouse about being lied to again.
Good! I hope this strikes fear in those terrorists who dare to challenge our country! If you’re not a terrorist, dont worry about how brutal protecting our Freedom can be.
Why would we not worry? They don’t just torture terrorists. They also torture suspects.
Yes! He is the Perfect pick to run the CIA. Nice move Mr. President.
Trump rockets this country toward Fascism.
I don’t see his name on the short list. Let’s hope this doesn’t come to pass.
We have had almost 8 years of non-action by this socialist regime. We are engaged in a war with ISIS, in many fronts, and other terrorists groups. And here we have someone defending the rights of those that on a daily basis attack our citizens. We can do better that water boarding and we can end all the fighting, what we need is a leader that trust their military and backs them up.
Looks like he’s just building a new swamp the slide right into the old swamp
There are several glaring and, frankly, embarrassing typos in this piece. I understand that at this time it is necessary to get articles like this out as quickly as possible and that some mistakes might get made in that rush. But this seems to be a trend in recent articles published on The Intercept.
I would be happy to serve as a copy editor for The Intercept if such a position exists. I would be willing to do this on a voluntary, unpaid basis as well, and can be reached at the email address I was required to append to my name in order to post this comment.
As someone not affiliated at all with The Intercept, that’s very generous. I hope they hire you!
Good work, keep it up! Don’t let Trump backslide from what he promised.
Drain the swamp.
He looks like some South American druglord. Or a dictator.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
Exactly what I thought. It seems Latinos aren’t good unless they do the dirty jobs properly. I hope this is a wrong info. Torture doesn’t help a bit but fills with its filth everything and everyone around. Also you don’t get reliable info from tortured people. Innocent people says anything to get out of the hands of the torturers and real psycho terrorists won’t say a word even if they can die.
@ his excellency Benito Mussolini
wrt. ” I feel it is unlikely Mr. Rodriguez was involved in torture. If that were the case, surely he would have been prosecuted by the Obama administration?”
After a careful review of the evidence, it does, in fact, appear the Obama administration, DoJ, investigated Mr. Rodriguez and completely cleared him of any wrongdoing.
attached exhibit A ‘Hard Measures’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC9PP94f4OQ&feature=BFa&list=FLsN32BtMd0IoByjJRNF12cw
Needless to say, if you wish to press the matter further a formal request should be made to the incoming Trump administration, c/o Giuliani Dept. of Justice.
yours truly and with all appropiate potentate appendages,
bah.
Jose Rodriguez never worked for the cartels so he is a lightweight.
How about Guzman?
Let the betrayal of the voters who voted for DJT begin:
• Rudolph Gulianni as possible AG anti 2nd Am;
• Mike Rogers not seen in a good light by Benghazi voters;
• …
I can’t wait til he selects more HRC related folks or co-opts HRC positions…
DJT certainly is now a politician.
We are fucked.
Lee only fights against Republicans who torture:
“The Obama administration also tortures through foreign proxies. Extraordinary rendition began under Bill Clinton, who used the practice sometimes prior to prosecuting a terror suspect in the United States, while in other cases, as has since become the norm, he employed it to extract information through torture with no intention or prospect of legally prosecuting an individual”
“The report’s release has been accompanied by a dangerous false narrative, according to which torture is a past crime and a crime exclusive to the Republican Party. But torture is evidently ongoing, and is and has been a bipartisan US policy. ”
– Julio Sharp-Wasserman, Truthout
Well, one better alternative to capture is to just kill them and move on down the road.
An even better alternative is to get the heck out so people in those regions can sort things out for themselves according to locally prevailing standards, which are doubtless far more humane when administered by followers of the religion of peace.
If Obama had prosecuted the CIA torturers and the ones who implemented it, then we wouldn’t be facing this now. He didn’t do his job, in so many important ways. But he sure went after those ethical whistle blowers.
So Dems, I don’t want to hear any whining from you–your POTUS DID NOT DO HIS JOB.
Maybe there is still time before he leaves to DO SOMETHING GOOD, instead of digging in his heels to push through TPP. Trump will be awful, but I can’t wait for Obama to be gone.
All this speculation is based upon nothing.
Meanwhile WaPo propaganda continues.
The Intercept did a recent story on the drone playbook. Read what WaPo writes about it. This is not what the Intercept revealed.
“The Obama administration spent years developing guidelines for counterterrorism operations, requiring multiagency approval on most drone-strike targets and “near certainty” that no civilians would be harmed.
That “playbook” is spelled out in presidential orders that will remain in effect unless Trump specifically moves to scrap them, administration officials said. Trump could rescind the procedures or issue his own orders setting out revised rules governing the use of drones and commando teams. But officials said a decision to throw out the Obama playbook risks sparking backlash from career professionals at the Pentagon and the CIA who have been implementing the rules since they were put in place.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/with-trump-about-to-learn-the-nations-deepest-secrets-a-sense-of-dread-in-the-intelligence-community/2016/11/09/e4206810-a676-11e6-ba59-a7d93165c6d4_story.html?postshare=1981478715412294&tid=ss_fb
Why would there be a backlash? What is the vested interest of career professionals in the assassination playbook?
So you’re sayin DJT isn’t gonna “drain the swamp”?
A gun blogger speculates that pro 2Am Trump supporters may well wish President Obama had a 3rd term in office if Trump selects Rudolph as AG
There is going to be a trial in June, ’18 in Spokane. ACLU v. the two Spokane psychologists who designed the CIA’s harsh interrogation methods in the war on terror. Among those ordered to give depositions under oath in the next few months are John Rizzo and Jose Rodriguez. Rizzo was the CIA’s chief lawyer, and Rodriguez was the head of the CIA Counterterrorism Center.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oct/05/top-cia-officials-ordered-to-give-depositions-in-s/
The two potential witnesses you cite were both trained to lie with impunity, so I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting the truth to emerge.
I think Trump’s hair should be waterboarded, since it’s highly probable that it’s hiding a headcrab. That would certainly explain his nonsensical screeching…
I feel it is unlikely Mr. Rodriguez was involved in torture. If that were the case, surely he would have been prosecuted by the Obama administration?
Well you see, President Obama felt it would be rude to look backward.Now history will look backward at his great shirking of duty.
Well at least some countries have the balls to go back and prosecute their former criminals even if the United States doesn’t
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB551-Operation-Condor-Verdict:-GUILTY!/
I hope the US won’t ever do a mock of Justice like we Argentinians did.There wss no need to repeat a prosecution because they were already prosecuted in the 80s. They should make the sentences effective again and that’s it. This was a circus for the masses with terrorists playing the part of judges. The law says noone over 70 or ill should be incarcerated in a common prison but at their homes. Common criminals, with several murders in their list don’t even go to jail but this very old and a lot very ill people are in awful prisons with no medical services,and no basic cares. Torture because terrorists were government. Shame. Totally shameful.
The US has a long legacy of letting high-level criminals off. Obama let Bush II off the hook, Bush II did not aid Congress in looking into Clinton, Clinton did not aid Lawrence Walsh in trying to prosecute Iran-Contra, Ford pardoned Nixon, Jefferson let Adams off the hook…
If Trump does not go after Clinton (and given his speech, he may not), it will only make my opinion of him sink further.
Right. And there are reasons for that. They’re political, not legal, decisions in the first instance. And half the country and as well as the national security apparatus supports torture (just not the responsibility for it). What new president is going to spend his short time in office cleaning up the past rather than pushing whatever agenda he has for the future? If you think you’d have an easy time prosecuting a cretin like Rodriguez or even finding a jury that would convict, you’re kidding yourself. What’s worse is that his legal defense would be covered by the taxpayer.
Holy batman benitoe! That’s the guy 60 Miniminuties ran front and center as the face of CIA torture way back when!! Said he had his own department for it called ‘enhanced interrogations’. .. drives a ’68 chevy stingray, restored.
*Clearly, the chickens are coming home to roost for the Obama administration
“Unlikely”?!? That echo chamber sure has solid walls.