Meet the one and only person being punished over the Senate Torture Report

Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Reuters/Shane T. McCoy


Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Reuters/Shane T. McCoy

Well, at least one person will be punished over CIA's crimes detailed in the Senate Torture Report. Wait, you mean to tell me it's not the CIA officers who tortured the wrong guys in "black site" hellholes? Or their superiors?

Instead, it'll be the person who helped expose them? Oh, that seems reasonable.

Alissa Starzak, a former Democratic majority staffer on the Senate Intelligence Committee, played a critical and controversial role during her time on the panel: She was a lead investigator for the torture report, and was one of two staffers involved in an ongoing feud over damning internal CIA documents obtained by the committee.

Currently serving as deputy general counsel for the Defense Department, Starzak was nominated last July to serve as general counsel to the Army.

But the critics of the torture investigation — namely, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-N.C.) — are orchestrating a quiet campaign to stall Starzak's nomination.

Burr confirmed to The Huffington Post that he is working to keep the former investigator from getting approved by the Senate.

"Meet The Only Person Being Punished After The Senate Torture Report" [Ali Watkins, HuffPo]

U.S. Senator Richard Burr speaks during the National Rifle Association's 139th annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina May 14, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane


U.S. Senator Richard Burr speaks during the National Rifle Association's 139th annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina May 14, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane