ACLU and Lawyers Guild Seek Differing Probes of Ex-Administration Lawyers

Two liberal legal groups are seeking ways to penalize administration officials and lawyers who authorized harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects.

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged torture at secret prisons run by the CIA, the Washington Post reports. The request comes after details of a secret report on the interrogations came to light.

The report by the International Committee of the Red Cross concludes some al-Qaida detainees were tortured by the CIA and subjected to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Detainees were subjected to waterboarding, forced to crouch in painful positions in coffin-like boxes and slammed into walls, according to the allegations. The ACLU letter (PDF) to Holder says it has evidence of CIA involvement in detainee deaths and torture that includes setting a prisoner’s hand on fire, putting lit cigarettes in a prisoner’s ear and breaking a prisoner’s shoulders.

The ACLU says is wants a “top-to-bottom review” of interrogation decisions, including those made at the highest levels of government, and cites legal memos justifying harsh interrogations written by Justice Department lawyers.

Meanwhile, the National Lawyers Guild is taking a different tack. It has filed a disciplinary complaint with the State Bar of California against former Defense Department general counsel William “Jim” Haynes II, now a lawyer with Chevron. The guild claims Haynes breached his duty as a lawyer by providing cover for harsh interrogations, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Another ethics complaint will be filed in Pennsylvania against former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo for his memos backing harsh techniques, the story says. Yoo, now a law professor at Berkeley, has defended his work, saying they were an attempt to give “unvarnished, straight-talk legal advice.”

Haynes released a statement defending his actions, BCN reports in a story posted to CBS5.com. "I discharged my responsibilities as a lawyer and an officer of the United States honorably,” he said. “It is unfortunate that this kind of charge is becoming a cost of public service."