A Senate report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program will be released Tuesday despite concerns by the White House that the release could lead to violence at U.S. diplomatic facilities abroad, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
“There are some indications that the release of the report could lead to a greater risk that is posed to U.S. facilities and individuals all around the world, so the administration has taken the prudent steps to ensure that the proper security precautions are in place at U.S. facilities around the globe,” Earnest told reporters at his daily briefing.
Earnest said the administration supports the release, but that the timing has always been up to the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said the committee notified the White House a declassified summary of the report will be released Tuesday.
“The president on his first or second day in office...took the steps, using executive action, to put an end to the tactics that are better are described in the report,” he said. “And the president believes that on principle it’s important to release that report, so that people around the world and people here at home understand exactly what transpired.”
Secretary of State John Kerry called Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the committee chairwoman, to discuss “the broader implications of the timing of the report’s release the timing of the report.” Earnest said Kerry supports the release of the report.
The $40 million, five-year inquiry will not address the culpability of former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and other senior officials for the program, in which suspected terrorists were abducted, sent to secret overseas prisons, and subjected to the harsh interrogation techniques.
But several panel members have extolled the more than 6,000-page report as one of the most comprehensive examinations of an executive branch agency ever undertaken by Congress.
In response to a question, Earnest declined to say whether Obama has spoken to Bush recently about the report.