In the years that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. officials debated internally how hurtful the pain, how humiliating the degradation, how frightening the sense of drowning that American interrogators could legally inflict on suspected enemies. The predictable ...

Tagged with: Abu Ghraib Barack Obama Guantanamo Bay

The Obama administration, asserting “the interests of justice,” is seeking a 120-day pause in military war-crimes trials of suspected terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Military judges on Wednesday granted requests by the administration to delay two ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Guantanamo Bay war crimes

Attorney General-designate Eric Holder called waterboarding a form of illegal torture and promised to restore the credibility of a Justice Department he described as "badly shaken" by "improper political interference." At Senate confirmation hearings, Holder signaled that President-elect Barack Obama will suspend military tribunals used to try suspected war criminals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The tribunals must be "substantially revamped" to provide defendants with more due process and ensure fair treatment for suspects, he said.

Tagged with: attorney general Barack Obama Eric Holder Guantanamo Bay Justice Department Senate Judiciary Committee torture waterboarding

Extension granted in Blagojevich case Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was granted a 90-day extension to obtain an indictment against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whom he has accused of corruption in a criminal complaint. U.S. District Judge James Holderman in ...

Tagged with: Barack Obama Bill Clinton California corruption Cuba grand jury Guantanamo Bay H&R Block James Holderman lawsuit Patrick Fitzgerald prison Rod Blagojevich settle U.S. Justice Department