It's important for the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its report on the CIA's torture practices to ensure they aren't repeated, Sen. Angus King told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"This is about conscience and principles. It's about who we are as a people. I think that's important," the Maine independent said Tuesday. "This explosion of torture apologists who say, 'You know, it really wasn't torture, and it really got great results.'
"That means it could happen again. And, that's the whole idea is to keep it from happening again."
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The report, expected to be released Tuesday, details the CIA's interrogation practices of suspected terrorists after the 9/11 attacks.
Officials have placed U.S. embassies around the world on high alert, fearing the report's findings could endanger American lives.
King, who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it was "not an easy decision" to release the report, knowing it might put American lives at risk, but maintained that it was a choice the committee "had to make, based upon what was in the report and the importance."
"There's nothing to say it couldn't happen next year or the year after with a different president or under different circumstances," he said.
King stressed there was no information to indicate the practices resulted in "actionable intelligence," adding the CIA admitted there had been "no systematic review" of the effectiveness of the torture procedures.
The CIA basically used "misrepresentation" to imply that torture practices were working to gain intelligence, King said, and suggested the agency "knew they were doing something that they shouldn't be doing."
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