Torture Foia Database

This undated draft OLC memo summarizes OLC opinions regarding interrogation of detainees. Much of it is similar to the other OLC memos concerning the CIA's interrogation program, with several exceptions. For example, on page 2, the memo notes ...

An OLC memo concluding that, “the President has plenary constitutional authority, as the commander in chief, to transfer such individuals who are held and captured outside the United States to the control of another country.” ...

An OLC memo concluding that Congress cannot interfere with the President's exercise of his authority as Commander in Chief to control the conduct of operations during war, including his authority to promulgate rules to regulate military ...

An OLC memo concluding that “the military has the legal authority to detain [Jose Padilla] as a prisoner captured during an international armed conflict,” and that the Posse Comitatus Act poses no bar.

An OLC memo concluding that the “the President’s authority to detain enemy combatants, including U.S. citizens, is based on his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief” and that the Non-Detention Act cannot interfere ...

An OLC memo concluding that the CIA’s proposed interrogation plan for Abu Zubaydah — which contemplates methods including “insects placed in a confinement box” and “the waterboard” — does not violate ...

This legal memo from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the Justice Department to the Department of Defense analyzes the legal standards governing military interrogations of "alien unlawful combatans" held outside the United ...

 A CRS report analyzing the law relating to the detention of two American citizens (Yaser Hamdi and Jose Padilla) as alleged "enemy combatants."

This memo by Alberto Mora, General Counsel of the Navy, gives the chronology of his opposition (and the opposition of other members of the Navy) to the harsh interrogation techniques authorized for use at Guantanamo Bay by Secretary of Defense ...