On Friday, President Obama admitted that the United States tortured al Qaeda detainees who were captured after the 9/11 attacks.
Obama acknowledged the practices at a televised news conference at the White House. Many of the practices were banned after Obama took office, reported CBS News.
“We tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values,” Obama said.
The statement came after the Senate report that criticized how the CIA treated detainees was set to be released in the upcoming weeks. The 6,200 page report will be made public.
The former CIA agents were notified that they would be able to view parts of the documents after signing a secrecy agreement. However, many were contacted afterwards and told they would not be able to view it, reported CBS News.
Many of the former agents deny what they did was torture, which is also considered a U.S. felony. However, Obama said the agents “crossed a line” into torture, reported Yahoo News.
All eyes turned to CIA Director John Brennan, who was called to resign after agency officials were accused of breaking into computers used by Senate staff to look through agency documents. The charges were confirmed by a CIA inspect on Thursday.
Obama said Brennan had apologized for his “very poor judgment.” The president also dismissed any calls to punish the responsible individuals, and for Brennan’s resignation.
“And he has already stood up a task force to make sure that lessons are learned and mistakes are resolved.”