padilla and torture

* from the Guardian:

"The Bush administration decided not to charge Jose Padilla with planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a US city because the evidence against him was extracted using torture on members of al-Qaida" (link)

* compare that with Comey's press conference re Padilla and the Hotel Gas Bombs june04

QUESTION: There are lots of references in here that indicate that much of this information came from Padilla confessing, or whatever you want to call it. Can you talk about how much of it is corroborated by interrogations with others, or were you completely relying on Padilla for Padilla's story?

COMEY: No, it's heavily corroborated. And that's what I meant by the scope and candor and clarity of this document. This bears reading, because what we've done is put in there all the interlocking corroboration, as well as where things don't agree.

In my experience as a prosecutor, one of the hallmarks of truthfulness tends to be stories don't line up exactly. But the core elements do, and we've tried to include it all: include what Padilla says that undercuts what others say that's inconsistent.

But it's heavily, heavily corroborated.

do you think it would be easy to get stories corroborated if you torture people long and hard? and do you think there's still be holes in the 'evidence' cos each torturee simply couldn't know what lies the other prisoners had told?

ftr, i hated comey after this performance, but then he went and appointed fitzgerald when ashcroft finally recused himself - so i guess he has redeemed himself...