WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) was joined by U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other senators today to express concern about recent reports that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder intends to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate CIA officials who interrogated al Qaeda terrorists.

“We are deeply concerned by recent news reports that you are ‘poised to appoint a special prosecutor’ to investigate CIA officials who interrogated al Qaeda terrorists. Such an investigation could have a number of serious consequences, not just for the honorable members of the intelligence community, but also for the security of all Americans,” the senators wrote in a letter to Holder.

“The 9/11 Commission emphasized that keeping our country safe from foreign attack requires that the Justice Department work cooperatively with the intelligence community, but the appointment of a special prosecutor would irresponsibly and unnecessarily drive a wedge between the two… It is difficult to understand what rationale could drive the Justice Department to now reverse course, reopen a five-year-old matter, and tarnish the careers, reputations, and lives of intelligence community professionals.”

The Chicago Tribune and other news outlets recently reported that Holder was under pressure from liberal advocacy groups to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged interrogation abuses, including the interrogation of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

The interrogation of KSM yielded information that was vital to apprehending other al Qaeda terrorists and preventing additional attacks on the United States, including the plot to destroy the Library Tower in Los Angeles.

“[T]here is little doubt that further investigations and potential prosecutions of CIA officials would chill future intelligence activities. The intelligence community will be left to wonder whether actions taken today in the interest of national security will be subject to legal recriminations when the political winds shift,” the senators concluded.

U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) also signed onto the letter.

A copy of the letter is attached.