Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee June 8, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said the Justice Department would not give the committee any memos containing confidential advice for President Bush regarding the treatment of suspected terrorists in U.S. custody. Ashcroft said, however, "This administration rejects torture."
Sen. Pat Leahy (D.-Vt.) asked Ashcroft whether his department had produced a memo for Bush "that would suggest that torture is allowed under certain circumstances." Ashcroft said: "The President has not directed or ordered any conduct that would violate the Constitution of the United States, that would violate any of [the] enactments of the United States Congress, or that would violate the provisions of any of the treaties as they have been entered into by the United States, the President, the Administration, and this government."
