Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417 or Lorcan Connick (202) 224-5972

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the release of a Senate Intelligence Committee report regarding the CIA's post-9/11 interrogation techniques.

On Timing and Release of the Report:

"The timing of the release is problematic given the growing threats we face. Terrorism is on the rise, and our enemies will seize upon this report at a critical time. Simply put, this is not the time to release the report.

"I believe its release at this time is politically motivated. I have no doubts that it will create problems for our country and the men and women serving our nation around the globe."

On Support for Investigating CIA Interrogation Techniques:

"As a military lawyer for more than 30 years, I believe we can and must fight this war within our values. I supported the investigation of the CIA as the problems of interrogation policies were obvious to me. I do not condone torture and continue to believe abusive detention and interrogation techniques used in the past were counterproductive. I'm very happy the techniques in question are no longer utilized."

On Obama Administration Detention and Interrogation Policies:

"We have now gone from one extreme to the other. We've gone from waterboarding to reading Miranda Rights and providing taxpayer funded lawyers to foreign terror suspects within days of capture. In addition, we no longer hold and lawfully interrogate High Value Targets who can provide valuable intelligence to prevent future attacks.

"The policies the Obama Administration has employed treats terrorists as common criminals, not enemy combatants. I'm convinced their criminalization of the war is causing our nation to lose valued intelligence which can help protect our nation."

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