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 (43)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 27, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6543
This email from Jack Goldsmith to Scott Muller discusses the Inspector General Report concerning the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques.
Email
Jack L. Goldsmith
Scott W. Muller
Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding
Mar. 21, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 5048
An OLC memo analyzing the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in the Time of War ("GC"). The memo provides three opinions. Part I concludes that "GC governs the occupation of Iraq." Part II discusses GC's general ...
Mar. 15, 2013
Legal Memo
Jack Goldsmith
Scott Muller
William J. Haynes, II, Scott W. Muller, Jack L. Goldsmith, Alberto R. Gonzales
Sept. 23, 2004 | FBI | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4884
Memo discusses the result of the Office of Inspections special inquiry into abuse of detainees at Guantanamo after September 11, 2001. The office sent a survey to FBI employees who were assigned to Guantanamo after 9/11 requesting them to ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo, Investigative File
Valerie E. Caproni | Thomas J. Harrington
Valerie E. Caproni, Donald W. Thompson, Jr, Thomas J. Harrington, Robert D. Grant
Sept. 02, 2004 | FBI | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4883
The memo discusses the result of their investigation/survey. It states that 9 FBI employees, of the 532 who were assigned to Guantanamo after 9/11, observed aggressive mistreatment, interrogations and interview techniques of GTMO detainees. ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo, Investigative File
Bruce J. Gebhardt
Bruce J. Gebhardt, Valerie E. Caproni
June 18, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4601

An OLC memo from Jack Goldsmith to John Helgerson, the CIA's Inspector General, expressing disagreement with the Special Review's representation of OLC opinions on two points -- whether John Ashcroft (Attorney General) authorized ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Jack L. Goldsmith
John L. Helgerson
Jack L. Goldsmith, John L. Helgerson, John D. Ashcroft, John A. Rizzo, George J. Tenet
Abu Zubaydah
EIT, Waterboarding, Use of water
Sept. 01, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4584

An OLC memo from Daniel Levin (Acting Assistant Attorney General) to John Ashcroft (Attorney General) and James Comey (Deputy Attorney General), updating them on the status of interrogation advice. The letter contains sections for general ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
John D. Ashcroft | James B. Comey
Daniel B. Levin, John D. Ashcroft, James B. Comey, Jay S. Bybee, Alberto R. Gonzales, John A. Rizzo, John McLaughlin, William J. Haynes, II, John C. Yoo, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation
Dec. 30, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4585

This document was originally released on June 1, 2005 (ACLU-RDI 3547).  This OLC memo supercedes the August 2002 memo interpreting the anti-torture statute. The memo disagrees with the previous memo's conclusions that torture is ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
James B. Comey
Daniel B. Levin, James B. Comey, George W. Bush
Aug. 26, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4582

An OLC memo to the CIA addressing whether the use of four enhanced techniques, "dietary manipulation, nudity, water dousing, and abdominal slaps," in the interrogation of [redacted] would violate the law. The letter concludes that ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
Daniel B. Levin, John A. Rizzo
EIT, Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Stomach/abdominal slap, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
Sept. 06, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4583

An OLC memo to the CIA addressing whether the use of "twelve particular interrogation techniques (attention grasp, walling, facial hold, facial slap (insult slap), cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep depravation, ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
Daniel B. Levin, John A. Rizzo
EIT, Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
Aug. 06, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4580

This letter from Levin to Rizzo addresses the use of waterboarding on a specific detainee. It concludes that "although it is a close and difficult question, the use of the waterboard technique in the contemplated interrogation of ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Daniel B. Levin, Jay S. Bybee
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding