Agency officers used interrogation techniques that had not been authorized. Were abhorrent and rightly should be repudiated by all. But brennan would not call it torture. I would leave to others how they might want to label those activities. Brennans explanation, the c. I. A. Was not ready after 9 11. The program was uncharted territory for the c. I. A. And we were not prepared. And he maintained the agencys enhanced interrogation techniques or eits produced intelligence, even though he conceded it was unknowable if the same results were obtainable without harsh methods. It is our considered view that the detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques provided information that was useful and was used. In the ultimate operation to go against bin laden. Thats in sharp contrast to the torture report from Democratic SenateIntelligence Committee chair, dianne feinstein. She responded to brennan in a tweet that critical intelligence that led to bin laden was unrelated to eits, but former c. I. A. Officials insist they were doing what was necessary to stop more attacks on the u. S. We didnt have the luxury of time. We had a ticking time bomb situation. On the lead, former c. I. A. Director Michael Hayden defended the forced rectal feeding of detainees. They had limited options with which to go do this. It was intravenous, which would be dangerous. With a noncooperative detainee. Hummus and pine nuts. This is one of the ways that the body is rehydrated. These were medical procedures. Youre defending rectal rehydration . What im defending is history, to give you a sense as to how this report was put together, this activity, which was done five times, in each time for the health of the detainee, not part of the Interrogation Program. Not designed to soften him up any questioning. Critics of the torture report, asked whats the difference between harsh interrogations under president bush and classified drone attacks under president obama. One Intelligence Committee member insisted the Drone Program is legal. I believe that the c. I. A. Is acting within the law in the intentions right now. Thats as far as i want to go. And all of these attacks on the c. I. A. Prompted a spirited defense from former president george h. W. Bush who said in a Statement Last night, he felt compelled to reiterate his confidence in the men and women who worked there. George h. W. Bush was not only the director of the c. I. A. , the building is named after him. Chris . Jim, this is not Getting Better yet in terms of the consensus of what was done and why. Until we have that, we cant figure out how to move forward. Lets bring in Christianne Amanpour who joins us from london. Not only are you very well versed in this type of interrogation, what happens around the world. You talked to somebody is very key in our analysis. Lets discuss how rare this situation is thats going on. Not the torture. That were getting inside the c. I. A. That theyre having to come out and explain. Theyre giving a press conference, although even that was weird. Did you hear they were making reporters surrender their phones. And other recording devices before they went in . What do you make of this kind of exposure were seeing right now . Well it is unique exposure. Obviously we dont get that kind of thing around the world. Even in our democracies here in western europe. Just a note, the British Government did confirm that they had been notified by director brennan, people had been notified that this report was going to come out. So yes, we dont get to see this kind of transparency. Really the question is Going Forward, what this means, does it have any repercussions overseas, you know a lot of overseas countries have been implicated in that they were the host to some of the black sides where some of this went on. Allies of the United States. Not just in europe, but also in places like egypt and elsewhere. And the other thing is, does the c. I. A. Put a full stop on this and move forward. Ive asked many people about that. You really put your finger right on it there. Theres so much doublespeak going on right now. Who knew . Who didnt know, what it was, what it wasnt. Mr. Brennan wouldnt use the word torture yesterday. Although it seems to fit every definition of torture. When you have that going back and forth, it doesnt allow you to go forward. You spoke to alberto mora, the former general counsel of the navy. He said we knew what was going on and we were trying to stop it. Unless the director is able to understand what the law and our values categorize this behavior as, then hes going to have to be told or were going to have to find a new director in order to lead this agency, we need to be clear about what the law and our principles require and how we classify these activities Going Forward. Its a strong statement from mr. Mora. But do you really believe that theres a gray area here . Do you believe this was about people the c. I. A. Not understanding what torture was and wasnt . No. Look, the report clearly states that there were many in the c. I. A. Who in the midst of administering this torture, they call it enhanced interrogation technique, were very, very concerned about it. And raised those concerns with their superiors. And according to the report, the superiors told them to just carry on. In many of these cases. Alberto mora, it needs to be recognized, was the very First American official to stand up and reject and resist this kind of technique. And he did that in 2002. And what he told me is incredibly significant. When he took his concerns about this torture to the military brass, that means the uniformed military, it means the lawyers, the legal part of the military, they agreed with him and they said, this should not be happening, it doesnt produce any valuable information. And not only that, it doesnt go with the values of our nation. It shouldnt be happening. They agreed with his assessment. This is in 2002. But the civilians ignored that. And then came the torture memos, which socalled legalized this. The only way this works, this type of disclosure in the name of transparency, is if you own it, own what it was, and own what the change is. That doesnt seem to be being done effectively now because of this parsing of the word torture. Is this working as a form of transparency by the u. S. , or just hurting their reputation . Well look, i think there are many reasons why director brennan may not have used that precise word. I spoke to the senior u. N. Reporter on this who says what happened is quote a criminal conspiracy. And that all of those, not just the practitioners, but those who authorize and directed this program are subject to prosecution under international law. And he pointed out that in italy, 22 c. I. A. Officials have in absentia been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms because of a rendition of an italian egyptian who was taken to cairo and tortured there. So it is very, very grave matter of legal precedents. But perhaps brennan was not using the word torture, because he didnt want other people in the c. I. A. , the troops to have their morale further damaged. He would be exposing himself to criminal responsibility, also. Because if you used word torture, then the torture is illegal. Well, youre absolutely right. It is illegal. And the United States is sett g signatory to the antitorture convention. He said look, the president has already used the word torture. We know its torture, thats not the issue. It was a top legal expert, that it was an esprit decorps issue. Let me ask you something. If what youre saying is true about the magistrate in international law, quickly on this, does that mean that Vice President dick cheney, if he were like vacationing in paris, may be at risk of getting picked up for a criminal action . Well, look, all i can say is if hes named in that report, they say yes, and i spoke to the former chief prosecutor at guantanamo, who said that he would recommend anybody named in this report to quote vacation domestically. Wow. Christianne amanpour, thank you very much for helping us with this interview. Michaela, imagine that. I wonder if they knew there was this kind of implication when they put out the report. One of them said i think ill vacation at yellowstone. Congress narrowly averlted a Government Shutdown following a long day of drama and discord on capitol hill. The house approved a 1. 1 trillion spending bill to keep the government open through september. The move happened despite strong objections interest democrats. The bill is now in the hands of the senate which has two days to approve it. Of course well have more on this coming up in a few minutes time. Another cosby accuser coming forward, this time, it is 1970s supermodel Beverly Johnson. In an essay for vanity fair, she says cosby drugged a cappuccino he made for her at his home during a readthrough for a role on the cosby show. Johnson said she knew quickly she had been drugged and began cursing at cosby. He quickly threw her out of his home into a cab. Beverly johnson will join us live this morning during the 8 00 hour of new day. A powerful statement about black congressional lawmakers and staffers, about 100 of them walked out of congress, raised their hands in a sign of support for the farmlies of Michael Brown and eric garner. A Senate Chaplain led the group in prayer saying they were working as a voice for the voiceless. Attorney general eric holder heading to chicago for Committee Meetings in an effort to improve relations between police and community. Do you feel a bit of a chill in the air . Never between you two. Look at this that sony exec amy pascal trying to embrace Angelina Jolie. Feel the chill now . You can see the actress not feeling it. Thats the stink eye. Pascal was part of the email exchange between sony execs where jolie was called a minimally talented spoiled brat. Were going to discuss how hollywood is handling this embarrassing scandal throughout the show, so stick with us. Thats two stink eyes. Full on. Full frontal stink eye. Is that isnt she supposed to be angry at scott ruden . I think they both were part of the conversation. Its not like she was defended. In the email exchange. She did not look happy in that one. I think shes generally not happy. She was not looking at me like that, ill tell you right now. You fed the beast. They had a moment. Well get into all of that coming up. Meanwhile, another story to tell you about, because the west coast is reeling from this powerful and deadly storm. Ferocious hurricaneforce winds, heavy rain and hundreds of thousands of Power Outages slamming california and oregon. Falling trees, caused two deaths in oregon, one of the victims was a teenaged boy, he was in a car when the tree came down. The storm being blamed for blowing out windows in downtown portland, so much rain has fallen in california, this one storm may erase three years of drought there. Thats the good news, but theres lots of bad news and dan simon joins us live from San Francisco with the latest. How is it looking, dan . Well, good morning, alisyn, with widespread Power Outages and flooded roadways, this is a storm that certainly lived up to its billing. Now city agencies are scrambling to try to get neighborhoods cleaned up. A deadly monster storm battering the west coast. Ferocious winds and torrential rain bearing down on residents. Leaving more than 225,000 people without power, from San Francisco to the canadian border. In oregon, the storm turning deadly, with recordbreaking wind gusts, fallen trees claiming at least two lives. The powerful winds of nearly 70 Miles Per Hour, blowing at giant sheet of metal into the windows of this Office Building in downtown portland. It was like being in a tornado. It was such a big piece of metal, it was going so fast i thought you know this may be the last moment. Strong winds also to blame for this partial roof collapse further north. Im not sure if ive ever seen anything like this before, its pretty unbelievable. The same storm destroying a few homes in washington state. The rising tide eroding beaches leaving more in perl. Peril. In california, hurricaneforce winds shaking area bridges and knocking over trees, including this 80foot tree that pinned a boy on a School Playground in santa cruz, firefighters released the boy. A foot of drain affecting the droughtstricken golden state, causing streets to flood and rivers to rise. This amount of rain in short period of time, anything can happen. This parking lot looking like a lake. While lake tahoe looked more like a beach. The gusty winds providing daring surfers with huge waves. Entire neighborhoods under water. Many residents stranded on washedout roadways, while other thoroughfares closed completely. Public transit shut down. Further north, heavy snow and fierce winds creating blizzard conditions in the sierra nevadas, a possible three feet of snow on the horizon. Conditions are slowly improving as the storm pushes south. But utility crews still have a lot of work to do at last check. A quarter of a Million People still without power on the west coast. Chris and alisyn, back to you. Theyll be busy this morning, thanks so much. Lets figure out why from the meteorological perspective. Lets bring in chad myers, what are you looking at with the storm, is Getting Better or worse . Getting better for San Francisco, getting worse for l. A. , the snow still coming down. Dan said a quarter Million People without power, 300,000 people already restored. Petrified forest had over a foot of rain. Lake sonoma, 7. 5 inches. Look when you go up in elevation, White Mountain had a wind gust of 139 Miles Per Hour. Mount lincoln, 135. Even toward mammoth, over 100 Miles Per Hour up on top of that mountain. More snow to come, more rain for l. A. Cold in the northeast, cold this afternoon, sunny skies, good flying though unless youre going through the west or your plane is coming from the west, you should be in good shape. Highs with a windy some wind coming down the hudson. Little hudson hawk today, 36 for the high in new york city. Guys, back to you. Chad, thanks so much for that update. Well Congress Takes the budget battle down to the wire. As usual. The house passed the budget, but the senate still has to weigh in well tell you why House Democrats challenged the white house to the brink of a shutdown. My name is karen and i have diabetic nerve pain. Its progressive pain. First that feeling of numbness. Then hot pins. Almost like lightning bolts, hot strikes into my feet. So my doctor prescribed lyrica. The pain has been reduced and i feel better than i did before. [ male announcer ] its known that diabetes damages nerves. Lyrica is fdaapproved to treat diabetic nerve pain. Lyrica is not for everyone. It may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. Or, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or skin sores from diabetes. Common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. [ karen ] having less pain, that means everything to me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about lyrica today. Its specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain. The house narrowly approved a 1. 1 trillion to spend for the government Going Forward. But there are a lot of catches. It happened just hours short of the deadline. The senate had to give itself a twoday extension to approve the bill. So its not done. Brinksmanship of the worst kind. But it seems to be the strategy for governing Going Forward. Really . Lets discuss, john afl lon, editor in chief of the daily beast, and margaret hoover, republican strategist. Did we have a birthday yesterday . Yes. 29 for the rest of my life. The problem is were coming into a new mode of leadership. Seem intent on using this as a tool even though they say they will not. Do you think this is the way forward . Do you think we will constantly be in this cycle . I think that we will see less of this in the next cycle because boehner has a larger coalition and frankly a larger coalition of moderates to help stave off some of the rightwingers in his coalition now. What was fascinating to me about this is the new coalition, so you had Michelle Bachmann on one side of the vote and nancy pelosi on the other. Youre seeing it beginning with rand paul and the National Security stuff and the far left, the aclu civil liberty crowd. Im all for new and interesting coalitions, but this is governing by crisis, this is not governing in effect, its brinksmanship. People in congress cannot get anything done, unless its at the 11th hour. What happens is this these inexcusable provisions get larded into a spending bill. Larded, good word. Really offensive stuff. Isnt that what the sticking points were . Thats a lot of it. If you look at the twoparty Progressive Opposition to this bill. Some of it was objection to the wall street provisions, a group of lobbyists from citigroup ended up largely putting in their own language and saying if you care about derivatives an