That conclusion led it to seek legal support from the U.S. Justice Department, the CIA said.

Further, its report indicated the degree to which senior White House officials were involved in CIA detentions and interrogations, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The CIA said it had identified more than 7,000 pages of classified memos, e-mail and other records related to its secret prison and interrogation program.

Most of the precise content of the documents remained secret. Nineteen documents filed were withheld from disclosure specifically because the Bush administration said they were covered by a "presidential communications privilege," the Post said.

The CIA disclosures were filed in federal court in New York as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by liberal advocacy groups.