Secrets are only secrets until someone gets annoyed. That is the message broadcast by Colorado Democrat Sen. Mark Udall, who is threatening to use the last seven weeks of his term to publicize a report which the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence assembled on the interrogation tactics used by the CIA after 9-11. Currently, the White House and the Senate are deadlocked in negotiations over how much of the 6,000 page review of CIA interrogation tactics should be redacted.
Udall, a member of the committee, spoke to the Denver Post in his first interview since losing an election to Republican Cory Gardner, telling the paper that he might be willing to use a little-known Senate privilege known as the “Speech or Debate Clause” to allow the information to come to light.
“Transparency and disclosure are critical to the work of the Senate intelligence committee and our democracy, so I’m going to keep all options on the table to ensure the truth comes out,” Udall said.
The Speech or Debate Clause grants lawmakers speaking on the floor of the U.S. House or Senate broad immunity from prosecution, even if they reveal classified information. This clause was famously used by then-Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska in the mid-1970s to force the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record, a move which bolstered reporting by the New York Times on the secret Vietnam War documents.
However, Udall expressed hopes that the move won’t be necessary.
“I do think we’re close to an agreement,” he said of the negotiations.
Spokespeople for both the White House and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who heads the committee, expressed optimism that the two branches would successfully reach a compromise in the next few weeks which manages to balance security concerns with the need for transparency in government. Still, their summary might not be enough to satisfy Udall.
“I’m not going to accept the release of any version of the executive summary that doesn’t get out the truth of this program,” he said. “Not only do we have to shed light on this dark chapter of our nation’s history, but we’ve got to make sure future administrations don’t repeat the grave mistakes.”
Udall has been a longstanding critic of the NSA and is also working on a bill to reform the agency’s surveillance methods.
