Prosecuting CIA Interrogators

The LA Times reported on Sunday that "U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. is poised to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate alleged CIA abuses committed during the interrogation of terrorism suspects."

Andy McCarthy argues that Holder should drop the investigation. Joe Lieberman also called on the president to call off Holder. Read Lieberman's full statement after the jump.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today submitted the following statement into the Congressional record urging the U.S. Attorney General against investigations into the CIA and the intelligence community:

Mr. President,

It has now been nearly eight years since our country was attacked on September 11, 2001, as 19 al-Qaeda members hijacked four jet airplanes and crashed three of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The passengers on the fourth plane, Flight 93, learned of the other attacks, fought back against the hijackers, and heroically gave their lives to prevent that plane from reaching its target in Washington, DC. That target was probably this very building - the U.S. Capitol.

In the last eight years, our homeland has not been attacked again. The reasons for this are many. We created a Department of Homeland Security and we adopted reforms in our intelligence community recommended by the 9/11 Commission. We are now consistently connecting the intelligence dots that were not connected before 9/11. We have denied safe haven to terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries around the world. And we have worked with our allies to prevent terrorist groups from gaining access to nuclear and radiological materials and to combat terrorist financing.

One of the most important reasons why we have not been attacked again in the last eight years is the tireless work of the men and women who serve in our intelligence agencies. While the attacks of 9/11 have receded into the memory of many Americans, I can assure you that is not the case for the intelligence community. They know that the threat of terrorism has not diminished, and are working each day to detect and disrupt terrorist plots targeting America and our allies.

They know that the threats we face are ones that could imperil the lives of countless Americans. Just last year, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction determined that it is "more likely than not" that a nuclear or biological weapon of mass destruction will be used against the United States in a terrorist attack within the next five years. Should a nuclear device detonate in an American city, it could instantly kill hundreds of thousands of people and render the city uninhabitable for years. This is a devastating possibility that America faces every day and agents are working to prevent every second of every day.

For all of these reasons, I believe we have a responsibility to give our intelligence agencies and agents the resources and tools they need, as well as the respect and appreciation they have earned.

What we should not do is go backwards by investigating intelligence officials who served us on the front lines of this ongoing war on terrorism and acted within legal guidance they were given.

Attorney General Holder is still considering an investigation into CIA interrogators and contract employees. I fear that such an investigation could very well foster a climate of political recriminations and sap the morale of the intelligence community. Those near certain results would no doubt leave our country less safe.

President Obama had it right when he said that with regard to past behavior by the intelligence community, he is "more interested in looking forward than...looking backward." Given the threats that we face as a nation, it is imperative that we follow the President's lead.