Cheney seeks release of detainee files

WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is seeking the release of files backing his case that harsh CIA interrogations saved U.S. lives, records show.

National Archives and Records Administration documents indicate Cheney last month sought the release of a pair of CIA reports issued July 13, 2004, and June 1, 2005 -- both a in a file marked "detainees" that was kept in the vice president's office, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Cheney made the request March 31 and presidential archivist Stephannie Oriabure responded with an April 8 letter saying the documents require "an agency review" before being released. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told the Post said the review will take "up to about three weeks' time."

Cheney has emerged as a fierce critic of U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to release four "top secret" memos in which Bush administration lawyers sanctioned harsh tactics for questioning prisoners. Cheney contends the techniques, which included simulated drowning, produced results that thwarted further terror plots.

Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project, said Cheney is trying to bolster his argument by "cherry-picking" intelligence that back his contentions.