The Bush administration hid CIA abuses from Colin Powell for fear he 'would blow his stack'

Jon Terbush's avatar
By
Last updated
The Bush administration hid CIA abuses from Colin Powell for fear he 'would blow his stack'
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Former President George W. Bush's White House kept its own secretaries of defense and state in the dark about the CIA's torture program, according to a damning Senate report released Tuesday.

The reason? The White House was "extremely concerned [ex-Secretary of State Colin] Powell would blow his stack if he were to be briefed on what's been going on," according to a CIA email included in the report.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Explore More
Jon Terbush
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.