CIA contracted psychologists getting sued, in turn they sue the CIA
The United States Central Intelligence Agency
The program was called the “enhanced interrogation program.” James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen are considered the architects of the program because they created it.
As you all may be very well aware, earlier this year a Federal Judge cleared the way for victims of the CIA’s torture program to sue the CIA.
As a matter of fact, this was the first time in US history that a Judge has ruled that anyone can file this type of civil lawsuit against the CIA.
So, as you can imagine the CIA decided it was time to blame someone because why would they take accountability for a program they didn’t create but simply approved of....and used?
That someone ended up being 2 contracted-psychologists who worked for them for having devised such ways to torture an individual in an effort to gain intel.
And now the 2, contracted CIA psychologists are in turn, suing the CIA so that they can prove that the torture program was in fact, not their fault after all.
On Monday a motion to compel the documents, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleged that the CIA and Justice Department had been uncooperative in supplying James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen with “documents critical to their defense.”
So what basically happened was, these two guys asked the CIA for the needed documents and the CIA denied the request, they did however offer to have an anonymous witness answer questions in writing. Actually, I believe the motion said that the Government offered to provide “alternative and creative options,” rather than hand over documents.
How it all started?
Well, James and Bruce were hired by the Central Intelligence Agency back in 2002 in all, they walked away with a cool $81 million for the work that they did for and with the CIA.
They were hired to devise a very horrific torture program for the CIA to utilize so as to get intelligence information from suspects.
The CIA at the time was scrambling to round up anyone that they could who might have had ties with or to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Both James and Bruce personally feel that they should have immunity from prosecution over the program because it was authorized by the executive branch during a time of war.
The tricky part about that is, should they really be granted immunity as contractors of the Government? Typically, contractors are not afforded that luxury so why would anyone consider making that exception now?
The former contracted psychologists, James and Bruce have tried to have the lawsuit against them thrown out by arguing that the CIA was legally responsible for the program. Technically speaking, that is true of course.
The CIA hired these guys to come up with the program specifics and well, in the real world when you hire someone to come up with specifics for a program it is up to the contractor to ensure all applicable laws will be followed and the hiring agency is aware of anything that might cause a small issue such as, inhumane human torture.
And to the dismay of both James and Bruce Senior Judge Justin L. Quackenbush of the Eastern District of Washington ruled in April that the case would continue and ordered both sides to begin discovery, which is the process of exchanging evidence before trial.
This is where James and Bruce started having issues with the CIA. James and Bruce said in their motion that the subpoenas they submitted to the CIA and DOJ in June requested approximately 30 categories of documents.
The government has been less than cooperative with the request. James and Bruce alleged through the motion they filed, that basically the government said that they’d love to help the defendants and give them the requested documents but they are “unsure how they can provide such information or when.”
The Department of Justice and CIA shot back that the “psychologists’ request is overly vague and burdensome, ostensibly because of classification issues in the documents related to the CIA’s now defunct torture program.”
Instead the government offered James and Bruce some alternative and creative options. One which was that the CIA would provide an anonymous witness who could answer questions in writing that could be used in court about the team's role in the torture program.
Seriously that is what the motion alleged. The not so funny part about that, it’s a witness who may or may not have had direct contact with James or Bruce, and the testimony may end up being tossed because it could be viewed as hearsay which would be true in this case.
I agree that maybe the program did go a little too far in some cases, I mean one person froze to death while being held and interrogated.
The program ran over the course of 5 years. 119 men were abused using the techniques devised by James and Bruce. The 3 plaintiffs in the suit were among the 39 subjected to the what many consider as the most harsh torture and scientific experimentation.
Anal penetration, mock execution, being doused with ice cold water, and enduring something a lot like waterboarding and much more.
In 2012, the DOJ announced that CIA officials responsible for the torture regime would not be facing any criminal charges.
This news upset a lot of people and rightfully so. Just because they didn’t come up with the program, they knew it was wrong, they knew it was inhumane to do what they were doing to another human being.
It’s been proven so many times that victims of extreme torture will in fact lie just to make it stop, so did it really get anyone any closer to what it was they were looking for?
Some might argue that flying planes into the Twin Towers was inhumane and wrong and I agree but being the monster in order to fight the monster doesn’t work.
I know that first hand.
At the end of the day, James and Bruce will most likely if the case isn’t eventually thrown out, be the one’s paying the most for the CIA’s ill fated torture program regardless of who actually committed the acts of torture.
The program in and of itself, that was devised by James and Bruce tends to read a lot like many of the cold cases I pour through each week, the torture of the victims, the many ways they died.
James and Bruce each have the mind of a predator who tortures, maims, and kills it’s prey much like being in the head of a killer or rapist.
Cristal M Clark
