There is a whole lot of juicy stuff in former Vice President Dick Cheney’s interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox News on Tuesday.
The take away: Cheney is deeply upset with how the Obama administration handled the release of the torture memos. In fact, he believes the Obama administration has purposely launched an attack on the Bush administration.
Here are the highlights:
Cheney says the Obama administration is selectively releasing classified documents that support their policies:
The fact of the matter is the administration appears to be committed to putting out information that sort of favors their point of views in terms of being opposed to, for example, enhanced interrogation techniques.
The former vice president says the release of the torture memos was a “very rare occurence” and glosses over the results that those techniques produced. The ensuing discussion of prosecuting Bush administration officials is an “outrage,” Cheney says.
I don’t believe it was torture. We had attorneys who gave us a clear guidance as to what was appropriate and what wasn’t.
…
You don’t ordinarily release those opinions, especially when it deals with classified programs. They did it in a way that sort of blocked so far any real discussion of the results of the program, and instead focused upon the techniques themselves.
…
I think the proposition that a new administration can come in and in effect launch an attack on their predecessor because they disagreed with the legal advice that was given by the Justice Department or because they find that they don’t like the policies that were pursued by the prior administration.
It’s one thing to come in and change the policy, it’s an entirely different proposition to come in and say that you’re somehow going to go after the lawyers and the Justice Department or the agents who carried out that policy. I just — I think that’s outrageous.
…
Bottom line is we successfully defended the nation for seven and a half years against a follow-on attack to 9/11. That was a remarkable achievement. Nobody would have thought that was possible, but it was. I believe it was possible because of the policies we had in place, which they’re now dismantling.
Cheney also says that congressional leaders, including Democrats were on board with the terrorist surveillance program that has since come under fire.
CHENEY: On the terrorist surveillance program, after we’d given them the brief in the Situation Room in the basement – I presided over it – I went around the table and asked if they thought we should continue the program. They were unanimous. Then I asked if they thought we should…
CAVUTO: Who was unanimous?
CHENEY: The speaker, the majority and minority leader of the House and Senate, as well as the chairman and ranking member of the Intelligence Committee.
And lastly, Cheney notes that he likes the idea of Jeb Bush running for president.
I’d probably support him for president… I’m not in the business of endorsing anybody at this point, Neil. But I’m a big fan of Jeb’s.