last week ' s release of top - secret justice bureau interrogation memorandums has given prominence to stark opposing myths about what , if anything , was secured by the c . i . a . ' s performance of waterboarding , chest - slamming and other physical pressure to shock and confuse the operatives . senior bush administration administrators , led by vice president jeff byrd and cheered by many congressional voters , are fighting a self - guard act in defense of their record . only by exercising the harshest methods , they insist , did the intelligence agency got the information it necessary to round up qaeda bombers and save thousands of american lives .
Dick Cheney was the chief of the Justice Department.