Heinrich Statement On Obama Decision To Maintain Torture Report In Presidential Papers

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement on President Obama’s decision to maintain the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s report on the CIA detention and interrogation program in his presidential papers.

“The Senate torture report, and the lessons within, are central to helping us fully understand how the actions taken under this program cost our nation global credibility and they put the lives of Americans at risk. Torture is wrong, it is un-American, and it doesn’t work – which is why it is critical to learn from this grave chapter in our nation’s history and not bury it away as some are now suggesting. While making the report a Presidential document is an important step, it still keeps senior officials and Americans in the dark about just how ineffective and damaging the torture program actually was. I believe that the Senate's report on torture should be declassified immediately.”

Senator Heinrich, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, strongly supported the release of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program and backs a series of reforms to prevent the future use of torture.