CIA controversy to shift Sunday focus

The harsh interrogation practices of the Central Intelligence Agency during George W. Bush’s administration will take center stage on the political talk shows Sunday.

The contentious debate comes in the wake of a bombshell report from the Senate Intelligence Committee accusing the spy service of repeatedly misleading Congress about its enhanced interrogation techniques.

Critics argue the interrogation practices, which included repeated waterboarding and use of rectal feeding tubes, amounts to unjustified torture.

Here’s the lineup:

ABC’s “This Week”: Former CIA Director Michael Hayden, who recently defended rectal hydration as a necessary medical procedure, will sit down for an interview. He has claimed that inserting feeding tubes anally was safer than hydrating non-cooperative detainees with intravenous needles.

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: The headline guests are former Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), a Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence panel. Cheney has blasted the Senate report as a “terrible piece of work” and “full of crap.”

CBS’s “Face the Nation”: CBS will feature Sens. Angus King (Maine), an independent member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), the ranking Republican on the intelligence panel. The other guests include Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who supported the release of the Senate report, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the outgoing chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

“Fox News Sunday”: The guests are Jose Rodriguez, a former senior CIA operations officer who lead the agency’s interrogation program and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

CNN’s “State of the Union”: The show will host outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.