WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement today after voting in favor of declassifying the Findings & Conclusions and Executive Summary of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report regarding the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Detention and Interrogation Program:

“Our credibility around the globe depends on our reputation. Today we took an important step forward in living up to our reputation as a nation that believes in openness and the rule of law.

“Indeed, it is clear to me, after carefully reading both the study and the CIA’s response, and after discussing the matter with dozens of experts, that the United States failed to meet the high standards upon which our country was founded and that some detainees were subjected to techniques that constituted torture.

“Furthermore, I am appalled by the CIA’s inexplicable mismanagement of this program and failure to hold personnel accountable over several years. This report is a recognition of those failures, and as it sheds light on them, it is critical that it be used as an oversight tool to ensure that these unacceptable actions are never repeated. I am encouraged that many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agreed and made today’s vote a bipartisan statement. The American people – and the people of Maine – deserve it.”

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