Reed's Office Says Senator Doesn't Support Independent Review on Torture

My last post included a link to an article from The Hill reporting that Rhode Island Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed are among those backing an independent investigation into Bush-era interrogation techniques.

But Sen. Reed's office says the boss actually prefers a process that relies on the standard judicial and Congressional oversight process. Here's an excerpt from a February interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell:

MITCHELL:  And, finally, Senator, there is a -- somewhat surprising to some people, two-thirds of those polled by USA Today, saying that there should be investigations into torture under the Bush administration. Now, I know the president said he doesn't want to look back, he wants to look forward. He obviously has to worry about his relationship with the military and the CIA. But Senator Leahy and others are suggesting that there should be a truth commission, and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of support for that in the White House. Where do you stand?REED:  Well, I think we have to seriously investigate allegations of torture. I don't know if we require a formal new commission to do that. We have the Department of Justice. We have federal attorneys. But we cannot simply ignore credible allegations. They have to be investigated.I think our political system, and our political system as well as our judicial system, is strong enough to conduct these investigations fairly and then to -- to bring those people who might have violated the law to justice.I don't think we shouldn't be afraid of that.  But I think that should be in response to specific allegations and specific evidence, and not simply setting up a new commission.MITCHELL:  All right. Senator Jack Reed, thank you very much.REED:  Thanks, Andrea.

MITCHELL:  Always good to see you.

That would put Sen. Reed more in line with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has resisted increasingly heated calls from the left for a full-bore, 9/11 Commission-style approach.