[Congressional Record: August 3, 2007 (Senate)]
[Page S10894]



                     OBJECTION TO RIZZO NOMINATION

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, most of my colleagues are well aware that I
have been pushing for a ban on the practice of anonymous holds for
several years. I believe that holds are an acceptable parliamentary
tactic, but I firmly believe that it is inappropriate for Senators to
use them secretly. If Senators wish to object to the consideration of a
particular bill or executive nominee, they should be required to do so
publicly, so that their objections can be discussed and debated in full
view of the American people. Today, I am announcing my objection to any
unanimous consent request to bring the nomination of John Rizzo to the
Senate floor for approval.
  The President has nominated Mr. Rizzo to be General Counsel of the
Central Intelligence Agency, CIA. When Mr. Rizzo appeared before the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence a few weeks ago, I asked him
about a now-infamous legal opinion that was prepared by the Department
of Justice in 2002. This opinion, commonly known as the ``Bybee memo''
includes shocking interpretations of U.S. torture laws, and essentially
concludes that inflicting any physical pain short of organ failure is
not torture. Most Americans would agree that this conclusion is over
the line, and this is why the Administration revoked the memo as soon
as it became public.
  John Rizzo was the acting general counsel of the CIA at that time,
and I asked him if, in hindsight, he wished that he had objected to
this memo. I was disappointed to hear him say, even with the benefit of
five years' hindsight, that he did not.
  Much more recently, about 2 weeks ago the President issued an
Executive order interpreting Common Article Three of the Geneva
Conventions and how it applies to CIA detentions and interrogations.
This Executive order refers to classified CIA guidelines. I have read
these guidelines, and I believe that they have suffered from a clear
lack of effective legal oversight. Since John Rizzo is once again
acting general counsel of the CIA, I believe that he bears significant
responsibility for this situation. I am not at all convinced that the
techniques outlined in these guidelines are effective, nor am I
convinced that they stay within the law.
  The last thing that I want to see is hard-working, well-intentioned
CIA officers breaking the law because they have been given shaky legal
guidance. These men and women dedicate their lives to serving their
country, and they deserve better than that. They deserve to know that
they are on firm legal ground when they are doing their jobs, and that
they can rely on the legal advice of their general counsel.
  I should also note that I disagree with the President's decision to
interpret the Geneva Conventions as broadly as he did, although this
does not excuse Mr. Rizzo from responsibility. The Director of National
Intelligence, Mike McConnell, discussed these techniques on television
recently and stated that he wouldn't want any Americans to undergo
them. I don't think it would be acceptable to use these techniques on
Americans either, but the President's new interpretation of the Geneva
Conventions says that it is okay for other countries to use them on
Americans when they are captured. This is also unacceptable.
  I believe that you can fight terrorism ferociously without tossing
aside American laws and American values, and I worry that the
administration and CIA lawyers may be losing sight of this. I was
disappointed to hear John Rizzo say that he did not wish he had
objected to the 2002 torture memo, and I was even more disappointed
when I read these guidelines. Our intelligence agencies cannot fight
terrorism effectively unless programs like this one are on a solid
legal footing. Mr. Rizzo's record demonstrates that he is prepared to
let major programs go forward without a firm legal foundation in place.
  This is why I have come to the conclusion that John Rizzo is not
qualified to be the general counsel of the CIA. I plan to vote against
Mr. Rizzo's confirmation in committee, and when it comes to the floor I
will object to any unanimous consent agreement to consider his
nomination until I am satisfied that our national counterterrorism
programs, and particularly the CIA detention program, have the solid
legal foundation that they need.

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