Following the Obama administration's controversial release of memos that approved of interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects, former Vice President Dick Cheney has called on the White House to make public additional documents that reveal the interrogations yielded crucial results for U.S. national security.
"One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort," Cheney said.
He made the comments during an exclusive interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. The second part of the interview airs tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Cheney told Hannity he believes the documents would show the country just how successful the interrogation techniques were.
"I haven't talked about it, but I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw, that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country," Cheney said. "I've now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so we can lay them out there and the American people have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was."
Cheney explained that prior to the 9/11 attacks, the American intelligence community did not have a vast storehouse of information on al-Qaida. He said it was through interrogations that the CIA and other top security agencies divined much of its intelligence, including the possibility Osama bin Laden may seek a nuclear device.
Last week, the Obama administration released several Office of Legal Counsel memos that approved of various interrogation techniques -- including a waterboarding, which simulates drowning -- on terror suspects. Obama discontinued the interrogation practices when he first took office.
Obama today stated he would not rule out prosecuting former Bush administration interrogators.
"With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the perimeters of various laws, and I don't want to prejudge that," Obama said during a White House media briefing with Jordan's King Abdullah.
He said he didn't believe it would be appropriate for CIA agents to be prosecuted for operating "within the four corners of legal opinions or guidance that had been provided from the White House."
But he continued that if and when a "further accounting" becomes necessary, Congress should investigate ways it could deal with the issue "outside of the typical hearing process that can sometimes break down and break it entirely along party lines."
"I'm not suggesting that ... that should be done, but I'm saying, if you've got a choice, I think it's very important for the American people to feel (an investigation) is being done in order to learn some lessons so that we move forward in an effective way. "