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.

Search Result (90)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 10, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4549

An OLC memo concluding that the CIA’s interrogation techniques do not violate the torture statute if used individually.

Apr. 16, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
Steven G. Bradbury, John A. Rizzo, James B. Comey, Daniel B. Levin, John L. Helgerson, George J. Tenet, Jay S. Bybee, George W. Bush
EIT, SERE, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity, Use of water, Physical assault
Oct. 23, 2001 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4540

This memo considers the use of military force to prevent or deter terrorist activity domestically and concludes that, “the President has both constitutional and statutory authority to use the armed forces in military operations, against ...

Mar. 02, 2009
Legal Memo
John C. Yoo | Robert J. Delahunty
Alberto Gonzalez | William J. Haynes, II
Robert J. Delahunty, William J. Haynes, II, John C. Yoo, George W. Bush, David S. Kris
May 07, 2004 | CIA-OIG | ACLU-RDI 4525

A heavily redacted version of a report authored by the CIA's Office of the Inspector General.  The report was later released in less-redacted form.  It discusses the CIA's use of the "enhanced interrogation techniques," ...

May 27, 2008
Oversight Report
John L. Helgerson
John C. Yoo, George J. Tenet, George W. Bush, John L. Helgerson, John A. Rizzo, John McLaughlin
Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding
Nov. 10, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4410
State Department cable to Washington describing a letter left off at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey by a human rights group written to President Bush with accusations of human rights violations and actions in contradiction to the Geneva ...
Dec. 23, 2004
Cable
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell
Aug. 11, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4404
State Department cable with a letter from Ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper on behalf of Sec. Powell. The letter states that the men are being held in accordance with the law of war for illegal enemy combatants, but that they are being treated ...
Dec. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
Nov. 13, 2001 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4377
White House Press Release on the Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism. The memo/press release is broken in to sections that list: Findings; Definition and Policy; Orders and regulations that pertain ...
Dec. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo, Other
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Feb. 07, 2002 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4373
Daily White House Press Briefing for February 7, 2002. The Press Secretary made an opening statement and then took questions from reporters.
Dec. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Ari Fleischer, George W. Bush
DOS | ACLU-RDI 4370
State Department talking points on the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo. The main points being made are: 1) All accusations of mistreatment are taken seriously and fully investigated; 2) Torture and other forms of cruel treatment committed by ...
Dec. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Ronald W. Miller
George W. Bush, Ronald W. Miller, Rexon Y. Ryu, JoAnn J. Dolan
Jan. 24, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4345
State Department cable concerning Australian Prime Minister Howard's upcoming trip to New York for the World Economic Forum. The cable states that PM Howard has expressed his support for Operation Enduring Freedom and the international effort ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
John Thomas Schieffer
Colin L. Powell
John Thomas Schieffer, Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4337
State Department cable to the U.S. Mission in Venna to deliver remarks of Sec. Powell to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe May 13, 2003. The points to make are i) The Military Commissions will be impartial; ii) there is a ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush