Dick Cheney Lobbies Congress for CIA Exemption from McCain Torture Ban

Vice President Dick Cheney and CIA Director Porter Goss personally lobby Senator John McCain in an extraordinary attempt to exempt CIA officers from proposed legislation banning “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” of any detainee held by the U.S. government. Despite the Senate voting 90-9 to approve McCain’s anti-torture amendment, Cheney aggressively pushes for a carve-out allowing the CIA to continue using enhanced interrogation techniques at black site prisons. The lobbying effort exposes the administration’s commitment to preserving its torture program despite overwhelming congressional opposition and growing international condemnation.

McCain, a former prisoner of war who endured torture in Vietnam, introduced his amendment in response to the Abu Ghraib scandal and mounting evidence of systematic abuse in U.S. detention facilities. The amendment would bring all interrogations conducted by U.S. agents worldwide under the standards of the Army Field Manual, which prohibits torture. Cheney’s proposed exemption would allow “counterterrorism operations conducted abroad” and operations by “an element of the United States government” other than the Defense Department to continue using techniques that constitute torture under international law.

Cheney argues that the president needs “maximum flexibility” in fighting terrorism and that limiting CIA interrogation methods would endanger national security. Working with his chief of staff David Addington, Cheney frames the exemption as essential for extracting intelligence from “high-value” detainees. The vice president’s lobbying campaign includes multiple meetings with McCain and other senators, backed by CIA Director Goss who warns that restricting interrogation techniques could cost American lives.

The lobbying effort ultimately fails. After months of resistance and intense public pressure, the White House agrees in December 2005 to accept McCain’s amendment without the CIA exemption. However, President Bush issues a signing statement asserting his constitutional authority to bypass the law when acting as commander-in-chief, effectively preserving the administration’s claimed right to authorize torture. The signing statement represents the administration’s continued defiance of congressional intent and international law.

Cheney’s aggressive defense of torture continues even after leaving office. In 2014, following release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report, Cheney declares the program was “absolutely the right thing to do” and says he would “do it again in a minute.” His unapologetic stance on authorizing war crimes demonstrates the impunity enjoyed by senior officials involved in the torture program. No criminal investigation or prosecution ever results from Cheney’s role in establishing and defending systematic torture as U.S. policy.