Dodging a peck of trouble (ed: USN&WR on FBI / torture)

[struggle4progress]

... After the 9/11 attacks, when American forces began capturing Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, Mueller made a key decision: He refused to allow his agents to be present at any of the interrogations by the CIA and military personnel at secret locations around the world and at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

... While the CIA and the military are under fire for the alleged use of torture against detainees, FBI agents have been praised for trying to bring attention to the controversial interrogation techniques, in numerous memos to the FBI. "Mueller has sent pretty clear messages down the FBI about the unacceptable nature of torture," says Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's probably the one bright hope in this entire torture debacle."

Mueller has been criticized, however, for being evasive with Congress about when he learned about the torture allegations. As to whether he tried to draw attention to the problem with the president, Mueller told U.S. News: "Well, I'm not going to get into that."

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050328/28fbi.torture.htm