This appears to be big news. The Justice Department's ethics office has recommended that Attorney General Eric Holder reopen and pursue several CIA prisoner-abuse cases
One implication might be to pursue Bush officials for possible criminal investigation, something that has been under consideration.
some additional details
Washington - The Justice Department's ethics office has recommended that Attorney General Eric Holder reopen and pursue several CIA prisoner-abuse cases, a government official said Monday, amid a report that President Barack Obama has approved creation of a special unit of interrogators reporting directly to the White House.
Subjecting prisoner abuse cases to possible prosecution would reverse the policy of the Bush administration, which had closed the cases. Such a move could expose CIA employees and agency contractors to criminal prosecution for the alleged mistreatment of terror suspects in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The recommendation by the Office of Professional Responsibility was recently presented to Holder, the official, speaking on grounds of anonymity, told The Associated Press. The ethics recommendation comes as Justice is to disclose a 2004 report by the CIA's inspector general detailing prisoner-abuse allegations.
The New York Times covering this story speculates that this raises the possibility of a criminal investigation.
With the release of the details on Monday and the formal advice that at least some cases be reopened, it now seems all but certain that the appointment of a prosecutor or other concrete steps will follow, posing significant new problems for the C.I.A. It is politically awkward, too, for Mr. Holder because President Obama has said that he would rather move forward than get bogged down in the issue at the expense of his own agenda.
The advice from the Office of Professional Responsibility strengthens Mr. Holder’s hand.
The recommendation to review the closed cases, in effect renewing the inquiries, centers mainly on allegations of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Justice Department report is to be made public after classified information is deleted from it.
The cases represent about half of those that were initially investigated and referred to the Justice Department by the C.I.A.’s inspector general, but were later closed. It is not known which cases might be reopened.
Mr. Holder was said to have reacted with disgust earlier this year when he first read accounts of abusive treatment of detainees in a classified version of the inspector general’s report and other materials.
I had been somewhat worried that President Obama was not making an investigation of abuse a priority, but he appears to have kept his word that it would be up to the Justice Department. Now, with this official recommendation to Holder, pressure appears to be mounting for a criminal investigation, one that will likely and that ought to lead squarely to Bush Administration officials. Many details remain, but this report appears to be a very hopeful sign.