One of the two psychologists integral to designing the CIA's post-Sept. 11 program of brutal interrogations is defending the treatment of al-Qaida detainees and disputing a critical Senate report.
James E. Mitchell is identified in the report by a pseudonym, Grayson Swigert.
Mitchell says a secrecy agreement prevents him from confirming his involvement or fully defending himself.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the program confirms that Mitchell is Swigert. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that has not been publicly released.
Mitchell tells The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his Florida that the Senate Intelligence Committee's report cherry-picks evidence to present a false narrative.
The Senate report says a company that the psychologists ran was paid $81 million by the CIA.
Meanwhile, a bound edition of the CIA torture report will be in stores by the end of the month.
Melville House announced Wednesday that it was publishing the Senate Intelligence Committee's "Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program," which accused the CIA of inflicting suffering on prisoners beyond its legal limits and peddling unsubstantiated stories that the harsh interrogations saved American lives. The book is scheduled for Dec. 30. Other publishers may issue the report, too.
Several government releases have become best-sellers even though they can be read for free, including the Warren Commission probe of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the "9/11 Commission Report," a National Book Award finalist in 2004 for an edition published by W.W. Norton and Company. (AP)
