FBI Director knew of GTMO and Abu Ghraib abuses

New memos released by the ACLU, obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests reveal that very high-up FBI officials were made aware of egregious physical abuses at Abu Ghraib in 2003. The New York Times reports memos about the abuse reached the attention of senior bureau officials long before the scandal broke in the Spring of 2004. They also cite one which was released after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke to the FBI Director. One memo alleges that military interrogators may have been posing as FBI agents.

The documents were in the latest batch of papers to be released by the government in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups to determine the extent, if any, of American participation in the mistreatment of prisoners. The documents are the most recent in a series of disclosures that have increasingly contradicted the military's statements that harsh treatment of prisoners happened only in limited, isolated cases.

Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the A.C.L.U., said the documents meant that "top government officials can no longer hide from public scrutiny by pointing the finger at a few low-ranking soldiers."