President Trump on Thursday reiterated his belief that waterboarding works, but said he plans to defer to his defense secretary on the matter for the time being.
“Waterboarding used to be used because they said it really wasn’t torture. It was the one step slightly below torture,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “That’s why waterboarding happened.”
“Torture is real torture,” he said. “Waterboarding is — I’m sure it’s not pleasant, but waterboarding was just short of torture, when all of a sudden they made it torture.”
Mr. Trump said Secretary of Defense James Mattis said he doesn’t intend to use the practice, which creates the sensation of drowning by pouring water onto a towel or cloth held over a person’s mouth.
“I’m with him all the way,” he said. “Do I believe it works? Yes, I do.”
“I just spoke to people who told me it worked, and that’s what they do,” Mr. Trump said.
The issue resurfaced this week after news organizations obtained a supposed draft order on lifting a ban on so-called CIA “black site” prisons, which some took as a signal that the Trump administration was thinking of reinstituting some of the George W. Bush era enhanced-interrogation techniques for suspected terrorists.
But the White House disowned the document. Republican leaders in Congress also said lawmakers have spoken on the matter and that such practices are banned.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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