WASHINGTON (CNN) - There’s nothing new in the interrogation memos whose release has stirred controversy, senior White House advisor Valerie Jarrett told CNN Sunday.
The CIA memos described waterboarding and other tough interrogation methods on alleged al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah.
Jarrett said the United States is “a nation of laws,” and the administration had a legal requirement to release the documents.
"The techniques that were being used by the prior administration were well known," she told John King on State of the Union. "When the president came in office, he said we're not going to use those techniques anymore. That's not who we are as a country."
“There’s nothing in these documents that Americans hadn't seen all over the news,” she said, adding that Obama said it was time to release them and “move forward.”
But the president is leaving any prosecution decisions up to the attorney general, she added.
(CNN) - President Obama signed an executive order Wednesday to establish the White House Council on Women and Girls.
The newly created panel, which aims to ensure that the government considers how its policies impact females, is asking each federal agency to analyze its policies to make certain the agencies are "focused internally and externally on women."
Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the president, will head the committee by serving as council chairwoman. Deputy Assistant to the President, Tina Tchen, will join Jarrett in leading the panel as the council's executive director.
"The purpose of this Council is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy," said President Obama in a statement released Wednesday. "My Administration has already made important progress toward that goal. I am proud that the first bill I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. But I want to be clear that issues like equal pay, family leave, child care and others are not just women’s issues, they are family issues and economic issues. Our progress in these areas is an important measure of whether we are truly fulfilling the promise of our democracy for all our people."
Watch: President Obama creates council on women and girls
During the first year, the council maintains that it will focus on improving the economic status of women, developing strategies to establish a balance between work and family, working with agencies to prevent violence against women, and improving women's health care.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama is planning to sign an executive order on Wednesday that will create a White House Women's Council overseen by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, according to two senior administration officials.
The officials said the president will make the official announcement at the White House and is likely to be joined by his wife, first lady Michelle Obama.
One of the officials said the president wants the office to "have a presence at the White House to address the issues facing women and girls," including pay equity and the balancing act working mothers face.
(CNN) – An internal report compiled by the Obama transition team states that President-elect Barack Obama was interviewed by the office of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as part of Fitzgerald's criminal probe into embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Obama was interviewed last Thursday. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was interviewed Friday, and incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was interviewed Saturday.
The report, drafted by Greg Craig, Obama's choice for White House counsel, concludes that neither Obama nor his aides - including Emanuel - had any "inappropriate" contact with Blagojevich or Blagojevich's staff.
The report states that there is "no indication of inappropriate discussions with the governor or anyone from his office about a 'deal' or a quid pro quo arrangement in which he would receive a personal benefit in return for any specific appointment to fill the vacancy."
(CNN) - Valerie Jarrett tells CNN contributor Roland Martin that President-elect Barack Obama offered and she accepted a position in the Obama administration – she will be the Senior Adviser to the President and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison.
The offer was made Friday but will be announced Saturday by the transition office, Jarrett told Martin. Jarrett is currently co-chair of Mr. Obama’s transition team and was senior adviser for his Presidential campaign.
(CNN) - Two Democratic sources close to President-elect Barack Obama tell CNN that top adviser Valerie Jarrett will not be appointed to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
"While he (Obama) thinks she would be a good senator, he wants her in the White House," one top Obama advisor told CNN Monday.
Over the weekend, Democratic sources had told CNN as well as Chicago television station WLS-TV that Jarrett was Obama's choice to fill his Senate seat.
Jarrett, a Chicago attorney and one of Obama’s closest advisers, is a leader of the president-elect’s transition team.
(Update: Two Democratic sources told CNN Monday that Obama wants Jarrett to serve in the White House, not the Senate.)
(CNN) - A prominent Democratic source close to Barack Obama confirmed Sunday that Valerie Jarrett is Obama’s choice to replace him in the Senate.
Jarrett is a Chicago lawyer and one of Obama’s closest advisers. She is also one of the leaders of Obama’s transition team.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the incoming chief of staff, said Sunday that he had not seen the report from Chicago’s WLS-TV that named Jarrett as Obama’s top pick, but he praised her as a “valuable ally.”
“People should know that Valerie Jarrett is - and people do know - she is a very dear friend of the president-elect and a valuable ally of his, not only prior to running for president, in his Senate life, and just personally for Michelle and Barack,” Emanuel said on ABC’s “This Week.”
The Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, will make the final decision on who will be Obama’s successor.
From CNN Politics
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Contact us | Work for us | Help
Recent Comments