Senator readies torture bill for new year

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that he plans to roll out legislation in the new year that would try to put an end to torture.

{mosads}“I intend to introduce legislation to make it clear, for example, that, if torture is used in the future, there would be a basis to prosecute,” Wyden said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The Justice Department has said it won’t prosecute CIA officials who used harsh interrogation techniques outlined in the committee’s so-called “torture report.”

CIA Director John Brennan last week dismissed the Senate report as “flawed,” telling reporters that investigators did not interview any of the agency officials involved.

Wyden said Brennan left open the possibility of torture to be used again.

But the Oregon senator said he wasn’t ready to call for Brennan’s resignation.

“I want to give him the chance to end this culture of denial,” Wyden said. “If he doesn’t do that, we’re going to have to get someone who will.”

Wyden added that he wants to see the entire 6,000-page Senate torture report declassified. So far, only a 500-page executive summary has been made public.