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Obama releases secret Bush anti-terror memos

03 March 2009 12:29 (UTC +04:00)

Washington-APA. The Obama administration threw open the curtain on years of Bush-era secrets Monday, revealing anti-terror memos that claimed exceptional search-and-seizure powers and divulging that the CIA destroyed 92 videotapes of interrogations and other treatment of terror suspects.
The Justice Department released nine legal opinions showing that, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Bush administration determined that certain constitutional rights would not apply during the coming fight. Within two weeks, government attorneys were discussing wiretapping U.S. conversations without warrants.
The Bush administration eventually abandoned many of the legal conclusions, but the documents had been closely held. By releasing them, President Barack Obama continued a housecleaning of the previous administration’s most contentious policies.
The Obama administration also acknowledged in court documents Monday that the CIA destroyed 92 videos involving terror suspects, including interrogations â€” far more than had been known. Congressional Democrats and other critics have charged that some of the harsh interrogation techniques amounted to torture, a contention President George W. Bush and other Bush officials rejected.
The new administration pledged Monday to begin turning over documents related to the videos to a federal judge and to make as much information public as possible.