After September 11, 2001, U.S. officials authorized the cruel treatment and torture of prisoners held in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo, and the CIA's secret prisons overseas.
This database documents the U.S. government's official experiment with torture. At present, the database contains well over 100,000 pages of government documents obtained primarily through Freedom of Information Act litigation and requests filed by the ACLU, and through litigation of Salim v. Mitchell, a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of the survivors and the family of a dead victim of the CIA torture program. To learn more about the database, please read the About and Search Help pages. If you're a developer, you can also access this data through our API.
This Letter Contract signifies the Government's intention to "negotiate and definitize" a formal contract with Mitchell, Jessen and Associates (MJA). The Letter Contract provides that MJA may proceed with the tasks identified in the "Statement of ...
This letter provides Bruce Jessen, of Mitchell, Jessen and Associates LLC confirmation of Verbal Authorization to Proceed Not to Exceed for DCI's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) Elicitation and Training for a CTC Project (name of Project redacted ...
An OLC memo from Jack Goldsmith to John Helgerson, the CIA's Inspector General, expressing disagreement with the Special Review's representation of OLC opinions on two points -- whether John Ashcroft (Attorney General) authorized "expanded use" ...
Indemnification Agreement between Mitchell, Jessen and Associates, LLC ("MJA") and the U.S. Government, James Mitchell and the U.S. Government, and Bruce Jessen and the U.S. Government. This agreement supersedes the November 8, 2007 ...
Indemnification Agreement between Mitchell, Jessen and Associates, LLC ("MJA") and the U.S. Government, James Mitchell and the U.S. Government, and Bruce Jessen and the U.S. Government. This agreement supersedes the November 8, 2007 ...
Report from the Office of Inspector General on Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities from September 2001-October 2003, specifically focusing on the use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs). In September 2016, a version ...
This report details the investigation into the death of Gul Rahman. This re-released report includes a description of psychologist Bruce Jessen and his role in the interrogation of Gul Rahman. A version of this document was re-released in ...
This June 22, 2007 email re: EIT briefing for SECSTATE discusses the meeting Mitchell and Jessen had with John Rizzo and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (General Counsel John Bellenger also attended) to discuss two EITs and Common Article III. ...
This is a January 5, 2010 memorandum written by David Margolis, Associate Deputy Attorney General, to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. It contains Margolis' review of OPR's findings of misconduct against Yoo and Bybee. ...
This document, prepared by the Chief of Medical Services, summarizes and reflects upon the rendition, detention and interrogation program. The findings include that in a particular no evidence was found that the use of waterboard produced ...
This letter is the CIA's response to questions raised by Daniel Levin, OLC, regarding the use of waterboarding. The letter describes the CIA's limits in administering the technique. [OLC Vaughn Index #72]
This letter from Scott Muller to John Bellinger concerns further discussions that clarified the approval of certain interrogation techniques. He writes, "the authorized techniques are those previously approved for use with Abu Zubaydah (with the ...
This letter from John Helgerson, Inspector General of the CIA, to Jack Goldsmith of the OLC addresses the DOJ's proposed modifications to the IG report. Helgerson writes, "we have carefully reviewed the comments of the [DOJ] regarding the Special ...
This letter from Scott Muller explains that Jack Goldsmith's letter to George Tenet, Director of the CIA, was forwarded to the Inspector General and that his office would decide whether the suggested changes to the Special Review would be made. ...
A letter from the CIA to OLC requesting that the OLC reaffirm its analyses in several previously issued memos relating to interrogation. The letter states that "we rely on the applicable law and OLC guidance to assess the lawfulness of detention ...
A list of bullet points discussing legal principles applicable to the CIA's detention and interrogation of detainees, including the use of the "enhanced interrogation techniques." Many of the principles listed appear in the OLC's interrogation ...
This is a list of 3 Classified DOJ Legal Opinions released in May 2005. There are three memos from Bradbury to Rizzo on the list: (1) Re: Application of 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A to Certain Techniques that May Be Used in the Interrogation of High ...
This cable includes the text of the January 28, 2003 DCI approved "Guidelines on Interrogations Conducted Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of Notification of 17 September 2001". The cable also asks that all personnel involved in ...
This cable states that the use of EITs requires that a psychological assessment of records, made only by a staff psychologist be completed about the proposed subject before techniques are authorized, and that psychological interrogation ...
This cable provides formal authorization to proceed with portions of the next phase of Abu Zubaydah's interrogation, which include "more aggressive techniques" in order to obtain information, that the interrogation team concludes he is ...
This CIA cable discusses the strategy for the post-isolation phase of the Abu Zubaydah interrogation and provides details on Abu Zubaydah's current status. The cable notes that the post-isolation strategy may include time in the "confinement ...
This paper written by James Mitchell and John Jessen discusses interrogation resistance techniques described in Al Qaeda training documents, how to recognize when these techniques are being employed, and strategies for developing countermeasures.
This document is a CIA Memo drafted for the Deputy Director for Operations via the Associate Deputy Director for Operations/Counterintelligence. The memo contains background information related to the treatment and condition of detainees as it ...
This OLC summary contains advice to the Counsel to President, CIA, and DOD on the use and legality of interrogation techniques in the war against terrorism.
This National Security Council memo discusses the use of the CIA's proposed EITs in the interrogation of high-value al Qaeda detainees. The memo divides the proposed EITs into two categories, "conditioning" and "corrective" and concludes that ...
This legal memorandum from John Yoo to Alberto Gonzales addresses treaties and laws applicable to the conflict in Afghanistan and the treatment of persons captured by U.S. armed forces. The memorandum concludes that these treaties do not protect ...
The September 2004 memorandum from Daniel Levin to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General provides an update on the status of interrogation advice. The memo includes previously given and current/pending advice for the CIA and DOD.
This legal memorandum from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo examines the application of the War Crimes Act, the Detainee Treatment Act, and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to certain techniques that may be used by the CIA to interrogate ...
This legal memorandum from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo analyzes whether particular conditions of detention at certain CIA facilities overseas are consistent with the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005. The memorandum concludes that conditions at ...
This July 22, 2004 letter from Daniel Levin to Scott Muller asks Muller to provide a "precise description" of the waterboard interrogation technique, so that the OLC can determine if it is consistent with 18 USC §§ 2340 and 2340A.
This memorandum from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo analyzes whether certain enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA in the interrogation of high value al Qaeda detainees would violate US law under Article 16. The memorandum concludes ...
This memorandum from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo examines whether certain interrogation techniques can be used in the interrogation of high value al-Qaeda detainees. The memorandum concludes that none of these specific techniques, considered ...
This June 10, 2004 letter from Jack Goldsmith to Scott Muller is a response to Muller's March 2, 2004 letter asking Goldsmith to "reaffirm" bullet points entitled "Legal Principles Applicable to CIA Detention and Interrogation of Captured ...
This May 25, 2004 letter from Jack Goldsmith asks John Helgerson for time to review the description in the CIA's memo of the OLC's advice concerning interrogations in the war on terrorism, before it is sent to Congress.
This transcript is of a hearing held before the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties to examine the OLC's involvement in the legal review of Administration policies regarding detention and ...
This document is a letter from Daniel Levin to John Rizzo stating that the use of twelve interrogation techniques in the interrogation of Sharif al-Masri will not violate the U.S. constitution, statute, or other treaty obligation. Levin says ...
This Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) report was written in response to public debate over Jay Bybee's leaked memo titled "Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340-2340A", which was replaced soon after by Daniel ...
This January 15, 2009 OLC memo from Steven Bradbury discusses the reasons for the withdrawal of nine OLC memos that were issued in the aftermath of 9/11, specifically why the propositions in these memos are not consistent with the current views ...
An OLC memo from Bradbury to Rizzo addressing whether the combined use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (including waterboarding) violates the prohibition on torture. The memo concludes that it would not violate the torture statute if used ...
This February 7, 2002 OLC memo from Jay Bybee finds that the President has "reasonable factual grounds" to determine that no members of the Taliban militia are entitled prisoner of war status under Article 4 of the third Geneva Convention (1949).
An OLC memo to the CIA addressing whether the use of four enhanced techniques, "dietary manipulation, nudity, water dousing, and abdominal slaps," in the interrogation of [redacted] would violate the law. The letter concludes that use of the ...