Justice OKs lawmakers' access to memos

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department said it agreed to give congressional members limited access to secret memos authorizing CIA interrogation strategies.

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said the decision permitting the restrictive review was "certainly too late ... and too little, as well," The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Justice Department officials said they would release uncensored versions of memos drafted by the department's Office of Legal Council, several of which are controversial because of what critics allege is their encouragement of torture and abuse of civil liberties.

Feingold, a member of a Senate Judiciary Committee which has conducted hearings on government secrecy, said access to the memos has some notable restrictions, making it difficult for lawmakers to review them thoroughly. Under terms of the arrangement, members cannot keep paper or electronic copies of the memos, the Post said.

Brian Roehrkasse, a Justice Department spokesman, said the move was an "extraordinary accommodation" to help congressional intelligence committees understand the Bush administration's legal basis for developing national security policies.