John Brennan's Answers to SSCI Post-Hearing Questions
They are available here. Lots of interesting stuff on a first quick read, but two thing stand out. First, in response to the question “Could the Administration carry out drone strikes inside the United States?,” Brennan gave this non-response, which is sure to lead to more questions and concerns: “This Administration has not carried out drone strikes inside the United States and has no intention of doing so.” And when asked to identify “those specific individuals to whom you expressed concerns (regardless of medium – email,
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They are available here. Lots of interesting stuff on a first quick read, but two thing stand out. First, in response to the question “Could the Administration carry out drone strikes inside the United States?,” Brennan gave this non-response, which is sure to lead to more questions and concerns: “This Administration has not carried out drone strikes inside the United States and has no intention of doing so.” And when asked to identify “those specific individuals to whom you expressed concerns (regardless of medium – email, text, conversations, phone calls) about the effectiveness, or legality of the CIA’s Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs) program,” he listed no specific individuals but reiterated the nature of his concerns.
Jack Goldsmith is the Learned Hand Professor at Harvard Law School, co-founder of Lawfare, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Before coming to Harvard, Professor Goldsmith served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 2003-2004, and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense from 2002-2003.
