There steps out of the shadows with an answer that will surprise you. Sonys hacking nightmare getting even worse, embarrassing racially offensive emails from everyone from sang lean know jolie to the president of the United States. Hello, im john burma. That makes me michaela pereira. Welcome to thursday. It is a crucial day for the director of the Central Intelligence agency. In just a couple of hours, john brennan will face serious questions about the new scathing report on cia interrogation tactics after september 11th. The report says that the tactics including waterboarding, mock executions and more. The report says they did not work. It also says that much of what the cia was doing was kept from president bush. Brennans appearance comes as a key senate democrat, mark udall of colorado is calling for his resignation and as former Vice President dick chain nay weighs in to defend cia tactics now under increasing fire. Joining us senior White House Correspondent jim acosta and our justice reporter evan perez. Jim, ill start with you. Youve got to know what the white house is saying this morning about the report. Reporter so far their posture has not changed. They are still not answering two very basic questions. One is should federal prosecutors go and launch a new criminal investigation into cia officials over these harsh interrogation tactics. The white house is saying thats for the Justice Department to decide. As evan knows, the Justice Department has said well take a pass on that. The white house is also not saying whether or not those tactics even worked which is sort of a silence is acquiescence situation because, as you point out, the cia director, john brennan who will be answering questions later this afternoon has said on the cia website in a statement he believes those tactics did save lives and prevent attacked. At this point the white house posture has not changed on that. I think a lot of people at the white house will be watching and waiting to see what john brennan has to say later this afternoon. One person who is already talking quite a lot is former Vice President dick chain nay on fox news. Lets listen to what he has to say. What happened is we asked the agency to go take steps and put in place programs that were designed to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9 11 and make sure it didnt happen again. Thats exactly what they did. They deserve a lot of credit, not the condemnation theyre receiving from the senate democrats. In effect, jim, what the Vice President there was saying is they should not be prosecuted which is more or less the stance of the Justice Department and theoretically the white house as well. The Vice President also said that he believes that these terror tactics did work. The white house would not weigh in on that. Theres not a huge amount of space perhaps ironically, maybe in tone, but not in fact, between what the Vice President former Vice President was saying and what the administration is saying. Not a lot of space in terms of those two key questions and not a lot of space in terms of whether or not john brennan should stay or go. John brennan was there when these tactics were developed over at the cia when dick cheney was the Vice President and was very instrumental in the days, month and years after the 9 11 attacks. The president has full confidence in john brennan according to the white house. Where there is space, john and michaela, is whether or not these tactics should be used. The president has said that has eroded the moral authority of the United States. Thats why he banned those practices, as he says, as soon as he came into office. That has not changed. If theres one clear distinction between the Obama Administration and Bush Administration it is on this question of using waterboarding and using those harsh interrogation tactics. As jim says, evan, the white house has full confidence in john brennan. Youll be in langley when he steps to the podium, what are you looking to hear from him today at the conference . One of the things thats happened over the last few years with john brennan in particular is he has sort of zigzagged a little bit on some of his answers about this program. I think theres going to be a lot of questions about exactly where does he stand on the way it was developed, the way it was told to the white house and the Justice Department and the congress because the thing the biggest thing that emerges from this report by the senate is this impression that perhaps, because the cia does nothing but secret stuff, they might be just there is no oversight. There might be ungovernable. They might be an agency that no one can really put full control of because necessarily they do so much secret stuff and they dont have to tell a lot of people about what they do. So this is a real moment of crisis for this agency. They really have to reassure people that they can be trusted to do the work, very difficult work that they do, but that theyre going to abide by the law. All right, jim acosta and evan perez, thank you so much. Dont forget that john brennan News Conference is happening around 1 30 today. Lets turn for a little bit of analysis. U. S. Embassies have been on high alert since the torture report was released tuesday. The fbi has warned for retaliation. So far there hasnt been any violence. The online chatter from potential attackers has been relatively muted. Joins us is our terrorism analyst paul cruickshank. Paul, what has the response been . Fairly muted both in the middle east and also on jihadist websites and social media. Obviously groups like isis and al qaeda may look to exploit this for recruitment and propaganda purposes. So far the reaction has been muted. There have been some calls by English Speaking jihadists on social media, an isis fighter who is canadian for two of the psychologists linked to this program to be beheaded. By and large, a lot of indifference on these websites. For these people, this is old news. They already have a very dark view of the United States in any case. After all, many of these people believe the United States is at war with islam, wants to exterminate the muslim religion. I think were likely to see less of a reaction than in some past controversies, notably the cartoons controversy, the film that came out just before the benghazi attack. Those touched on deep religious raw nerves. This report doesnt touch on those in the same way. Im curious, paul. Is it too early to tell. An intelligence source tells our Barbara Starr the threat of retaliatory attacks could come in days rather than a Quick Response in a matter of hours. Thats right. It is too early to tell. Tomorrow is friday. Friday prayers, its possible there could be some reaction after that, the radical preachers could try and get people to launched protests or even attacks. So far its been rather calm. These radicals have grievances against the u. S. Isis has already called for attacks in United States. I dont think this is going to push the dial that much probably, we hope. We hope as well. Paul cruickshank. We appreciate it. One of al qaedas most dangerous operatives is now thought to be very much alive. U. S. Officials are telling cnn that david rue john, a master bomb maker for khorasan was likely injured but still believed to be alive. Hes considered an expert in making bombs that can be undetectable in airport screening. Ahead for us this hour, a former cia officer weighs in on this new report. Were these interrogation tactics worth it or worthless . His response may very well surprise you. Here we go. Woo who, woah, woah, woah. Its out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart associations go red for women campaign. If you see it i hope youll let us know. Always look for the grown in idaho seal. No question about that. But your erectile dysfunction that could be a question of blood flow. Cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moments right. You can be more confident in your ability to be ready. And the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. 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And thats why theres also a wealth of misinformation that comes out of people who are being subjected to it. Thats one of the big debates that the torture report has set up. Did it work . Was it worth it . Probably a bigger question for many, was it right . We certainly now know senator john mccains stance. Its been his stance for a long time. He, of course, was a whizzer prf war for many years in vietnam. Glenn carl is the author of the interrogator. Thanks so much for being with us. Thank you, my pleasure. You ran interrogations of a terror detainee 12 years ago. You were there. You saw what happened. There are two big issues were talking about. Do these harsh tactics work and are they worth it . Lets start with the first question. Based on what you saw and your experience, do they work . No. There really even shouldnt be a debate about this. The results are clear, have long been known. The fbi has known this. Anyone who is involved in this knows this. The measures that were used by the cia and the u. S. Military, post 9 11 actually were torture techniques that we were subjected to in our training so that we would know what happens to you when you are tortured, not as an interrogation tool to extract useful information. Its just clear, theres no debate. Senator mccain is completely right. He knows firsthand. Did you think at the time that there would be repercussions . When you were in the midst of this, im just curious. I can imagine if youre having a crisis in confidence in whats going on around you, you would be conflicted. How did you respond at the time. Im curious. This is part of the tragedy of the whole saga. James pavet who at the time was the most Senior Operations officer, the head of the director of operations of the cia in 2001. The Senior Leadership and everyone drown the ranks that the agency exists to do the job on the margins of what is acceptable. When the order came to interrogate these people, he said and the cia leaders said the cia is always left holding the bag, and we will do nothing, nothing that is illegal. We want clear guidance. The guidance provided was the hack job memorandum that came to be known as the torture memo written by a political appointee who clearly doesnt understand the substance of the u. S. Constitution and u. S. History which authorized basically that you can do anything which contradicts the constitution, the 8th amendment, uniform of military justice, convention against torture, Geneva Convention and cia regulations. Officers were in a terrible position because the president signed an order saying it was okay for the department of justice to contradict our laws and our oath. Glenn, three former directors of the cia, they say these tactics provided useful information. The president himself refuses to rule out the possibility that they provided useful information. Whether or not it was worth it, thats a different story. What do you say to these people who still think it can be helpful . The president the current president is clearly trying to stay out of a debate from the past happily. The directors, some of whom i know personally are men of integrity, but they are misinformed actually. I was part of as were many, many officers. I was not central to this. I was part of these debates on going. All of the reports provided from detainees who were subject to enhanced interrogation were recalled at the time as unreliable. As senator mccain was just quoted by you saying information provided under duress cannot be trusted and is frequently wrong. The 20 cases, the Senate Report on this is quite clear. But this is argued vehemently at the time in house. The 20 cases that were touted as triumphs that came from enhanced interrogation either were shown not to be cases or the information to be wrong. Our leadership actually was informed incorrectly, and i think is sincere in their convictions, but thats not the fact. Enhanced interrogation, such a bizarre thing when you actually hear it sort of talked about. I want to ask you about something that you mentioned. I believe it was on the Anderson Cooper show last night. You say that we can protect ourselves while using methods that align with our values. Absolutely. Explain that a little more for our krurs now. Absolutely. Americans need to understand this. This is not about being soft and fuzzy wuzzy or anything like that. Hard things need to be done. There are people trying to kill you or me or destroy our nation and who are antithetical to our way of life. Thats a fact. However, the fbi, the u. S. Military have long known how to conduct interrogations that are principled and effective and in accordance with our laws and our oaths and our constitution. It works. We have done so. We continue to do so. We have been very effective, we meaning the u. S. Intelligence committee and military and fbi encountering, disrupting and destroying those who seek to harm us. And doing all of that while upholding our oaths and obeying our laws. Let me point out that the United States after world war ii prosecuted, convicted and punished numerous japanese Intelligence Officers and soldiers for the war crime of waterboarding. Now, if we found then that its not okay, that it is a war crime to water board, why is it different now . It is not different now. We shouldnt be different people or a different nation. We can be strong to protect ourselves while upholding who it is we are. Glenn carle, thank you so much for joining us at this hour. Just ahead, in light of this new report, what effect does this now have on the legacy of president george w. Bush. Does it damage that legacy . A whole lot of defenders coming out saying its piling on. An irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. 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For information and savings options download the xarelto® Patient Center app, call 1888xarelto, or visit goxarelto. Com history will judge us by our commitment to a just society governed by law and the willingness to face an ugly truth and say never again. There may never be the right time to release this report. The ins stability we see today will not be resolved in months or years. But this report is too important to shelf indefinitely. The cia torture report resonating around the globe. It, quote, stained our national honor. Those are the words of Arizona Republican senator john mccain about the cia tactics. While texas republican senator ted cruz obviously had a different perspective saying enough with saying everything is george w. Bushs fault. Its interesting, though. That is part of the intrigue about this report. What didnt bush know about what was going on . Did he know about the techniques that were being used. Theres mention in the report that he was kept in the dark for a few years by the cia. Former Vice President dick cheney now says thats not really the case. Not true. Didnt happen. Read his book. He talks about it extensively in his memoirs. He was, in fact, an integral part of the program. He had to approve it before we went forward with it. Joining us now, peter baker, New York Times White House Correspondent, also author of days of fire bush and cheney in the white house. Good to have you with us, peter. Thanks for having me. Here is the question, im really interested in your thoughts, given all that you know. Whats the impact of the bush legacy both short term and long term . Thats a good question obviously. We knew long before this report that president bush authorized the program like this. What weve learned from the report is more of the details, more of the graphic nature of it. And we have opened up a further debate about how effective they were. What the Senate Report is saying for all the claims by the cia and president bushs administration, it didnt produce the kind of intelligence that stopped the attacks afterwards which was, of course, the point. President bush and the cia and dick cheney all disagreed. They said we are the ones in the bunker, they werent there. This debate is hard i think to resolve. But its one well be playing out for years to come in history. Was it something that made any sense, was it something that produced anything of value. Its really interesting. I went back and read parts of days of fire last night. One of the best books in the last two years. Not just because youre talking to the man who wroe it . I would say it to anyone who asked. You say bush did approve the waterboarding at least. Flat out as a statement of fact. Bush said in his sort of biographical book decision points. Does this put him in a difficult place now as he looks back . He either has to own all of it or he has to own being in the dark. Its interesting. Hes not running away from this. To the extent what the Senate Report says is the cia didnt brief him on the particulars of the program, the specific techniques until 2006, almost four years after the event. It doesnt mean he didnt know about it or didnt approve it. It means he didnt sit down and get at the nuts and bolts with what was going on. What did he know . He said he did know, he saw the list, he actually disapproved or rejected two of the specific techniques but approved waterboarding and the rest. Its interesting. In the, in fact, theyre trying to keep the cia out of it, hes not using this as an effort to have plausible deniability. He says i decided this and i still support it. Its an interesting situation. Not the usual political duck and cover kind of scenario you might imagine. Dick cheney in an interview with fox news also said something really, really fascinating. He said the president knew what he needed to know which gets to the point you were just making, how much did they tell him, what did they tell him . What does it say about the relationship with bush and cheney which you wrote so much about . Well, look, bush believes strongly in a management style in which he made Big Decisions and left the details to others. It doesnt mean he didnt know what was going on. Clearly he didnt dive into it nearly as much as dick cheney. Dick cheney got an intelligence report, the same as the president got, and an extra set of briefings that went beyond what the president got. He did dive deeply into the things that were going on on the dark side, to use the phrase he used. He no doubt probably did know things that the president didnt know about what was being done on the war on terror. Thats the way they had it, the way they structured their administration to approach the things. Final thought from you, peter. Do you have thoughts, opinions, about whether the report should have been released in such detail . Thats not for me to decide obviously. I think reporters are always in favor of more disclosure rather than less. The argument hurts us abroad. The counterargument is transparency also helps us abroad. Thats for other people to decide. They can easily make the case of this much transparency of what makes the United States unique. Peter baker, i loved reading your book and rereading it last night. Hes going to continue saying that. Its true. Ahead for us this hour, were waiting to hear from House Speaker john boehner. In a couple minutes he will announce whats the situation with this 1. 1 trillion spending bill that hangs in the balance. The problem is members of both parties now say they dont like it. Are we headed to another shutdown here . Say it aint so. P. Push it ow oooh baby baby. Baby baby. If youre saltnpepa, you tell people to push it. Push it real good. Its what you do. Ah. Push it. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Ah. Push it. Im pushing. Im pushing it real good my baby drove up in a brand new cadillac. My baby drove up in a brand new cadillac. Look here, daddy, im never coming back. Discover the new spirit of cadillac and the best offers of the season. Lease this 2015 standard collection ats for around 329 a month. We are just hours now from a house vote on funding the government. That might not sound sexy to you, but what you need to know is that theoretically it could lead to a shutdown. Democrats are lashing out over this spending bill, raising concerns that there are not enough votes to get it through. If they dont do it by midnight, theyve got to do something or else there will be a shutdown. This sound like echoes of times before, does it not . Johning us from washington senior digital correspondent chris moody. Pleasure to have you with us at this hour. Lets talk about what the democrats are so upset about . Its democrats and republicans. People wonder why
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