Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has already warned President Donald Trump against bringing back torture, is vowing to reject any administration nominee who has backed so-called enhanced interrogation techniques.
McCain was the sole GOP senator to vote against confirming Steven Engel to lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel earlier this week, citing his role in the controversial torture memos under the George W. Bush administration.
Engel told the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation process that he “reviewed and commented” on a draft version of a July 2007 memo that signed off on enhanced interrogation techniques — although he declined to answer whether he believed the legal conclusion of the memo was correct. Engel was a deputy assistant attorney general at the time.
“Mr. Engel reviewed and commented on this memo, which attempted to justify interrogation techniques that violate the Geneva Conventions and stain our national honor,” McCain said in a statement to POLITICO on Wednesday. “I cannot in good conscience vote for any nominee who in any way has supported the use of enhanced interrogation."
