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John Ryan attended the Massachusetts Democratic Convention, along with more than 3,000 delegates, Saturday.

WORCESTER Massachusetts Democrats, who met here Saturday for their annual convention, are so sore over losing their last campaign, they are barely even talking about the next one.

President Trump came in for a beating from the elected Democrats who took the stage at the DCU Center. Governor Charlie Baker, whom some Democrats hope to unseat next year, was hardly mentioned: None of the six statewide elected officials who addressed the convention targeted the governor.

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The partys delegates, who generally skew left of the partys mainstream, approved what state Senate President Stanley Rosenberg lauded as the most progressive Democratic Party platform in the country.

Delegates heard from the three candidates hoping to unseat Baker next year. Each of them former governor Deval Patricks administration budget chief Jay Gonzalez, environmental activist and entrepreneur Robert K. Massie, and Newton Mayor Setti Warren swiped at the governor.

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But much of the day was spent bashing Trump,a reliable applause line.

To eject Baker, the party will have to channel fury from a new wave of party activists.

Donald Trump is uniting the Democratic Party in a way it has not been united in a generation, said US Senator Edward J. Markey.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, noting that anti-Trump activists had turned out in droves for marches and demonstrations since his election, said, I know its been a long, tough year for Massachusetts Democrats, and for Democrats all across the country. I know many people are tired. I know many people are angry. Youve probably spent more money on posterboard in the past four months than the rest of your life combined.

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US Representative James McGovern, welcoming the more than 3,000 delegates to his hometown, ripped Trump as self-obsessed and an embarrassment. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said Trumps budget hurts the elderly, the disabled, and the working poor.

Insiders acknowledge their party is at a crossroads, lacking a clear leader at the state level and largely at a loss for how to decisively confront Baker, routinely ranked in polls as the nations most popular governor.

The lack of attention paid the governor, echoing last years convention, underscores the challenge facing a party that has control of most of the states other levers of political authority. Democrats have grown frustrated with their elected officials, many of whom shy from criticizing Baker. Neither Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh nor House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who have frequently praised the governor, addressed the convention. Walsh addressed a delegate breakfast before the convention gaveled to order Saturday.

Markey, Warren, Secretary of State William F. Galvin, Attorney General Maura Healey, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, and Auditor Suzanne Bump all refrained from taking on the governor. Later pressed by reporters about Bakers job performance, Warren pivoted to criticizing national Republicans.

But party officials said they were encouraged by an influx of new delegates more than 1,500 many of them energized by opposition to Trump.

State party chairman Gus Bickford appeared eager to go on the attack, ripping Baker as an absentee governor.

Someday, I expect to find Governor Bakers face on the side of a milk carton, said Bickford.

Hes scared, Bickford said of Baker. Hes afraid to face his constituents and answer for his failures and unwillingness to confront the worst president in our nations history.

Bickford also credited Democrats for Bakers decision to sign onto a policy position that counters Trumps withdrawal from the Paris global climate-change accord.

Still licking its wounds from the national partys defeat at the hands of Trump last November and the state-level loss to Baker two years before that, the party is also dealing with internal fissures. Vestiges of US Senator Bernie Sanderss organization against Hillary Clinton in last years Democratic presidential primary pushed unsuccessfully Saturday to make changes to internal party rules.

Party officials said that more than 30 percent of the convention delegates were new, reflecting an uptick in grass-roots energy. In a non-election year, the issues convention did not give delegates a chance to vote on their three gubernatorial candidates.

Many party delegates appeared underwhelmed with their current options. But the candidates set about the task of differentiating themselves.

Gonzalez took the most direct aim at Baker, peppering him with criticism of the state budget, transportation system, opioid crisis, and patronage.

It is easy to be popular when you dont do anything, when you never take a stand, Gonzalez said.

Massie, in a colorful speech that spoke of the legitimate rage of working and middle-class families, won chunks of the crowd over with a call-and-response cadence. He ran through a host of progressive goals he said would not be accomplished under Baker.

We can move into a bold and progressive future, but not with Charlie Baker, Massie said.

Warren, the Newton mayor, vowed the biggest grass-roots campaign in Massachusetts history.

Im challenging Charlie Baker, but Im also here to challenge my own party, he said.

Each of you and our elected officials, dont accept Charlie Bakers idea that just getting to next years budget is the best we can do. Dont hesitate to say clearly, We need new revenue.

In response to Democrats criticism, state GOP spokesman Terry MacCormack said in an e-mail, Their hyperpartisan rhetoric and calls for irresponsible immigration policies that make us less safe stand in stark contrast to Governor Bakers record of bipartisan success.

Much of the action came at the end of the more than six-hour convention. A controversial effort to amend the party platform with language about peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, saying that Israels settlements in the occupied territories are obstacles to peace, was ruled out of order because it addressed foreign policy. Many delegates loudly objected.

Efforts, backed by some of the Sanders forces, to expand the number of committee seats and lower the threshold for amending the party charter both failed.

Richard Hughes, a first-time Somerville delegate who spoke in favor of adding delegates, declined to say which Democrat he backed last year, and hoped the proposal would pick up grass-roots momentum in coming years.

We felt it was important to bring it up for a vote, Hughes said.

Delegates added planks to their platform arguing against for-profit prisons and candidates accepting political contributions from fossil-fuel companies, and in favor of making Election Day a state holiday and creating an independent redistricting commission.

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State Democrats turn attention to Trump, not Baker, at convention - The Boston Globe

Paul Diaz Truman of the Seminole County Democratic Party was surprised when nearly 50 people turned out for the organizations monthly meeting in December.

In a county long dominated by Republicans, the gatherings typically drew about a dozen or so residents. But after Donald Trump pulled off a stunning win to become president, a growing number of people 150 on average have been showing up and asking how to volunteer, he said.

Obviously, its related to Trump, the 31-year-old Oviedo tutor said. On almost every major issue the environment, education, health care Trump has hit a nerve.

Likewise in Lake County, where Republicans have long held every major office, a growing number of Democrats are attending party meetings and inquiring about volunteering, party officials said. Elsewhere in Central Florida, Democrats hold sway in Osceola and Orange, although Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs is a Republican.

Democrats have made inroads in recent years in Seminole but face a stiff challenge to translate a passion for politics stoked by Trump at the ballot box. Republicans have long held nearly every elected seat from city commission to the Legislature for decades.

Since 2004, the number of registered Democrats in Seminole has risen by 24 percent to 96,457, while the number of registered Republicans has risen by just over 1 percent to 109,314. But another 79,952 28 percent are in the growing no-party-affiliation category.

Hoping to build on that momentum, Seminole Democrats have started looking ahead to the November 2018 elections by recruiting volunteers, signing up precinct captains, registering people to vote and encouraging residents to run for office.

The election is still 17 months away, Truman said, but its not too early to build the partys infrastructure and prepare for the partys campaign to re-elect U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Winter Park, along with gaining two county commission seats and several state legislative contests. Murphy ousted longtime incumbent Republican congressman John Mica in November.

On Saturday, scores of Seminole Democrats also known as Sem Dems plan to knock on 10,000 doors throughout Sanford to sign up volunteers and recruit precinct committee members. Volunteers also will ask residents to sign petitions, including one for a proposed constitutional ballot amendment to restore voting rights to non-violent ex-felons.

In the coming months, Sem Dems plan to hold similar events in other Seminole neighborhoods.

The Democratic Partys efforts are not lost on Seminole Republicans.

We have taken notice of their initiatives, said Kathryn Townsend, chair of the Seminole County GOP. And we have our own initiatives, and we will be registering more Republicans. Were very strong in Seminole. But we certainly dont want to take any of that for granted. Were really counting on registering new voters.

Seminole GOP volunteers plan to attend community events through next year. The organization is also looking to recruit students from the University of Central Florida to register young voters as Republicans.

As in Seminole, Republicans hold nearly every political seat in Lake. And when longtime Democratic supervisor of elections Emogene Stegall retired last year, she was replaced by former state Sen. Alan Hays, a Republican.

Since 2008, the number of registered Democrats in Lake has risen by 5.4 percent, from 67,528 to 71,175, while the number of registered Republicans has risen by nearly 17 percent from 85,568 to 100,104. Voters registered with no party affiliation also make up a quarter of the electorate, 56,560.

But Lake Democrats vow a concerted effort to bolster their fortunes. Democratic chairwoman Nancy Hurlbert said the party has seen a consistent increase in interest since Trumps election.

Democrats held a knocking on doors event last month to encourage residents to run for local offices, including for city and county races, she said.

I think people are becoming energized by what they see happening across the country, such as the possible rollbacks of civil rights, the rolling back of a lot of emission standards, Hurlbert said. People are coming to us and say: What in the world are we going to do?

In Seminole, party leaders are encouraged by the recent burst of enthusiasm. The Lake Mary Community Center, where meetings are held, is getting cramped, and the party is looking for a larger venue.

By knocking on doors were hoping to build a big umbrella, Truman said. We dont have the money that the Republican side has, but we can win by having the power of the people on our side.

mcomas@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5718

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Confident Democrats plan large push within Seminole - Orlando Sentinel

HELENA It felt like a fog lowered on the Democratic Party's election-night watch party Nov. 8 in the ballroom of a Helena hotel as attendees kept consulting their phones for updated results.

A couple of large televisions along the south wall showed what many thought was impossible: Donald J. Trump winning the presidential election. Statewide, things werent looking much better. An early tally of votes posted on the Secretary of States website just after 8 p.m. showed many Republican candidates ahead in federal and statewide races, and the leads for all but the governorship just kept growing as the night went on.

On the morning after, the damage was more clear. Democrats went from holding all but one statewide elected office to clinging to a lone seat, the governors. They also lost the race for Montanas only U.S. House seat. While that wasnt unexpected, the 18-point defeat was steeper than projected.

Many were left asking what happened and, perhaps more importantly, what did having so many candidates previously thought of as popular summarily defeated mean for the Montana Democratic Party going forward?

The question of who was left on the partys bench to run for office was asked much earlier than anyone expected, starting Dec. 13 when then-Rep. Ryan Zinke was named as Trump's pick to be Secretary of the Interior.

Creston musician Rob Quist won an eight-way primary in March, beating out the more politically experienced state Representatives Kelly McCarthy of Billings and Amanda Curtis of Butte. Democrats veered toward Quist for a handful of reasons, party insiders said. His name recognition was hard to deny after touring the state for years with the popular Mission Mountain Wood Band. He had rural roots. And he was hand-picked by the man who perhaps holds the most sway in the state Democratic Party former Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Quist ended up losing by 6 percentage points to wealthy Bozeman businessman Republican Greg Gianforte, whom many also called a flawed candidate even before he allegedly assaulted a report on the eve of the election.

Contacted last week, Schweitzer said he still stands by Quist as a solid choice for candidate, though after his delinquent taxes and other financial issues were reported, some questioned if someone who had already been vetted via previous elections would have been a better pick.

He is and was a good pick for the House seat, Schweitzer said. You choose an ordinary Montanan and then having $7 to $8 million of out of state money come crashing down on your head, that would end anyone.

Quist said Friday that after the election he rested for a few days, but then I woke up on Tuesday morning with a new sense of resolve and purpose.

While he said its too soon to say what his plans are for future elections, Quist said the House race felt more like the first quarter in the game for me.

Hes traveling to Chicago next week to speak at The People's Summit, a gathering of progressives where Bernie Sanders is headlining this year.

I have definitely turned a corner in terms of wanting to expose more about and really gain more knowledge and try to speak more about what is really going on in our government, Quist said. When I started all this, my staff said everything else kind of shrinks by comparison, and I see what they mean now. Its such an important thing we do.

If anyones wondering, Schweitzer said he's out of politics.

"Im an old guy and Im a business man," the 61-year-old said. "I was in business when I ran for governor, I served two terms and I walked away. Ithink that I believe that is what our founding fathers thought the government would be."

The Montana Democratic Party is launchingan effort to cultivatea new class of candidates, called the Blue Bench Project.

Party executive director Nancy Keenan said Democrats last January began discussing how to capitalize onmomentum around the state spurred by a backlash to Trumps election. An estimated 10,000 turned out for the Womens March in Helena, organized in opposition to much of the rhetoric of Trumps campaign. Since last fall six Democratic county central committees Mineral, Madison, Glacier, Sweet Grass, Valley and Roosevelt have reactivated and seven more have expressed interest.

Turning that energy into candidates will be a main focus of Blue Bench. Going people to show up for a rally is one thing, but running for public office is an entirely different beast.

This is where you have to connect that elections matter, Keenan said. You take people in the state that actually want to run for office themselves to actually change policies to what they want to see.

Democrats are on a tight timeline for municipal elections. The deadline to file for these offices is June 19, but even after getting sidetracked by the special election the party has a pool of candidates.

All over the state weve gotten folks that have called that said I want to run for my school board, I want to run for my city commission or county commission. Its been organic that way, Keenan said.

In years past, the party had focused recruitment efforts through its Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a wing of the party that helps Democrats running for the Legislature.

Before the party was focusing primarily on legislative races. Then you realize when you recruit for the legislature you need people who have served in local offices, Keenan said. When you think about building a bench you build it from the ground up and you build it from those municipal and local offices around the state.

While the party works to build for the future, more immediate races are on the mind of party leaders. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is gearing up to fiercely defend his seat next fall, but its unclear at this point who will run for statewide offices in 2020.

The conversation would be different if last fall's candidates like Jesse Laslovich, Melissa Romano and Monica Lindeen had won their respective races for state auditor, superintendent of public instruction and secretary of state. Laslovich had been the top attorney in the auditor's office under two-term auditor Lindeen. Romano was a school teacher with no political experience, though she is now considering a bid for the Legislature, party insiders said.

Jeremy Johnson, a political professor at Carroll College, said that losing a race like Laslovich or Romano did doesnt necessarily hurt a candidates future chances, and in some ways might help by increasing their name recognition.

Of the Republicans who won statewide offices last fall, Secretary of State Corey Stapleton lost primary bids for Montana's U.S. House seat and governor. Auditor Matt Roseldale also lost a primary bid for the House seat. Attorney General Tim Fox, who won re-election, had a previous failed bid for the job.

While most party insiders say building a list of names for the 2020 elections isnt a valuable exercise at this point, one thing many agree on is the party needs a renewed focus on rural areas.

The advice I would give to the Democrats is that I would really like to see them spend more time out across Montana, Lindeen said. They need to visit Eastern Montana and rural areas, and not just talk to folks about what they believe in but listen to and talk about what their concerns are.

McCarthy, a state representative from Billings who lost out to Quist in the U.S. House nominating convention, is a potential candidate who talks about his rural roots with ease. His grandfather ranched near Acton in northwestern Yellowstone County and years ago donated the land for the post office and bar.

Wed go in to get the mail and grandpa would get a shot and Id get a Pepsi, he said.

McCarthys grandparents and their neighbors were all Farmers Union stock who voted Democratic, but somehow in a generation we lost them, he said.

He believes its not so important for the party to find candidates who are from rural areas, but to focus on playing up why its platforms benefit farmers and ranchers.

I think we just have to get out there and start having those conversations and say What are we missing? Its hard to be from Montana or have any roots in this state and not have a farm or ranch somewhere in your past. Maybe were not just touting our rural bona fides enough.

McCarthy last week said he isnt sure what his plans are for the future. If you could say where Id be in a year, youd know more than me.

The same group of people who got him to jump into the U.S. House race want to see him run against Gianforte in 2018, he said. That team did some legwork earlier this year and determined he had a shot at the seat.

Were having the conversation right now and they would like me to run against Gianforte in 2018, but I have not yet made that decision McCarthy said.

His wife is an Australian citizen, and that presents some logistical challenges.

Ive got to decide whether Im going to put the state of Montana or my family first. I am one of those people who really likes their wife and wants to live with them. Thats where my happiness lies. If it wasnt for that Id be like Shoot, lets do this thing. I think we can win it.

That atmosphere has Lindeen frustrated with the state of politics as well. She is doing consulting work now and unsure if she'll run for office again.

Its so nasty. Im frustrated with this culture that seems to be pervasive where if you are a Republican or a Democrat somehow you look at the other side as being terrible or evil somehow. We all have points of view and we need to come back to this more civilized culture of listening to different points of view.

Statewide candidates have to strike a balance between listening to all and defending the national party, though.

You cant just run away from your party, Johnson said. Jon Tester has actually been very skillful at that. Republicans, like any good political party, will try to hone in on the weakest parts of opponents. They will do everything they can do identify Montana Democratic politicians with Nancy Pelosi or other national Democrats. No matter what the Montana state Democratic Party does, it cannot escape being associated with the national party.

Though the model seems to be skewing toward candidates with little or no political experience think Gianforte, Quist and Trump, who rose to the presidency without ever holding so much as a school board seat Democrats still put stock in developing a farm team. Johnson said that approach could make sense.

In the U.S. and also Montana we tend to elect a candidate and then theres a reaction to those types of candidates. And there could be Trump fatigue. Candidates who are not like Trump at all could do better in subsequent elections.

Excerpt from:
After defeats, Montana Democrats seek to deepen pool of candidates - The Missoulian

As Massachusetts Democrats converge for their annual convention in Worcester this weekend, party leaders, activists, and operatives face a dispiriting challenge: blocking Governor Charlie Bakers reelection in 2018.

As Massachusetts Democrats converge for their annual convention in Worcester this weekend, party leaders, activists, and operatives face a dispiriting challenge: blocking Governor Charlie Bakers reelection in 2018.

To eject Baker, the party will have to channel fury from a new wave of party activists, emboldened by their opposition to President Trump, into a campaign to defeat a Republican governor. Baker has distanced himself from the president and a host of his most controversial policies, from climate change and immigration bans to health care and budget cuts.

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Whats more, the governors consistent record-breaking popularity in opinion polls, unprecedented fund-raising prowess, and effective use of his bully pulpit on Beacon Hill have positioned him as an affable Republican moderate and created serious political complications for the Democrats, according to Globe interviews with longtime activists, leaders, and party operatives.

But the rank and files focus on Trump and the turmoil in Washington, while ignoring the governors race, might be their toughest obstacle.

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I see much more enthusiasm among activists in getting rid of Donald Trump than in the governors race, said Janet Beyer, a veteran Democratic state committeewoman from Concord. A lot of Democrats here are more concerned about electing people around the country who can override Trump than whos running for governor, she said.

Another longtime state committee member, Tom Larkin of Bedford, said he sees that as the biggest challenge facing Democrats to harness the passion brought into the party this year by a surge of new anti-Trump activists into a campaign against a moderate Baker.

It is hard enough to get a handle on Baker as a problem, but Trump is boiling the pot, helping us keep the activists in the field, he said. Our challenge is to translate that to a Democratic race to beat Baker. I dont see how we can take advantage of it. Its tricky.

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Other party leaders and the candidates are apparently sensing that, too. Trump is the first name out of their mouths when asked about the Massachusetts gubernatorial race and the strategies to beat Baker.

Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe/File 2017

Our focus has to be on Trump and what Charlie Baker, as the leader of his party, is going to do to stand up for the people of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford said.

Trump is an albatross around his neck, Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford said. Our focus has to be on Trump and what Charlie Baker, as the leader of his party, is going to do to stand up for the people of Massachusetts.

The announced candidates former Patrick administration fiscal chief Jay Gonzalez, Newton mayor Setti Warren, and environmental activist and 1994 lieutenant governor nominee Robert K. Massie strongly dismiss reports that the nascent gubernatorial race is failing to generate much interest or enthusiasm at the grass roots.

While they are not creating much excitement, they are seen for the most part as credible candidates, with the beginning assemblage of campaign organizations, the development of broad themes for their candidacies, and claims of growing lists of volunteers.

But none of the three has yet to create the kind of spark that Deval Patrick had at this stage of the 2006 race. By 2005s off-year convention, he was creating a visible buzz among the grass roots.

Warren argues that it is too early to make that assessment. But his comments again highlight the point that Trump is the political bugbear at the center of the 2018 state election.

This is where we can actually push back against Trumps policies, Warren said of the race. It is going to take time to build up the grass roots, but we will get there.

The candidates are also nervously looking at a shadow boxer at the edge of the race Attorney General Maura Healey, who has a healthy $1 million in her campaign account and a strong political profile just halfway through her first term.

A Healey candidacy is the Baker camps worst fear and many Democratic leaders greatest wish, according to Republican insiders. But she is showing no signs of jumping into the race at this point. However, Democrats say that if Bakers poll numbers were to crater this fall, she would face strong and tempting urgings for her to get in the race.

Another problem for the gubernatorial contenders is the importance the party is expected to put on the US Senate race. Elizabeth Warrens reelection is the partys priority, particularly with the national Republicans threatening to pour resources into Massachusetts next year to damage her national reputation.

She needs to be our No. 1 priority going into 2018, one of the states top Democrats said. The governor race is an afterthought.

But perhaps the most difficult challenge for Democrats to unravel Bakers candidacy is his public image. Since his hard-fought election, he has crafted a profile that few dispute an affable governor who seems more focused on governing and is not banging the partisan drum or looking for battles with Democrats.

He has cultivated Democrats and set a tone that appeals to moderate voters a swing bloc that often decides gubernatorial elections, particularly for Republicans.

He never uses excitable language, said US Representative Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat and the dean of states congressional delegation. Its very reassuring. Every word he utters is aimed at suburban independent voters.

Veterans of state politics said they see a parallel to 1994, when a very popular Republican incumbent an affable and moderate William F. Weld cruised to reelection. He crushed Mark Roosevelt, a state representative with historic political roots and a legislative record. He is Theodore Roosevelts great-grandson.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press/File 2017

Even Elizabeth Warrens ability to generate turnout of Democrats, political veterans argue, might not necessarily help the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

Even Elizabeth Warrens ability to generate turnout of Democrats, they argue, might not necessarily help the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. The state has a deep history of ticket splitting. That same year, while Weld won in a record landslide, Senator Edward M. Kennedy handily beat back what at first appeared to be a serious challenge from first-time candidate Mitt Romney.

Some veterans of past campaigns dismiss the notion that partys rank and file, who rallied to Patrick and gave him a landslide victory in the Democratic primary and general election in 2006, are not ready to mount a spirited challenge to Baker. They argue that the anti-Trump fervor that is bringing overflow crowds to party conclaves and local meetings will spill into the state elections next year.

The Democrats have a much more favorable environment than 1994, says Doug Rubin, a Democratic strategist who guided Patrick from obscurity to the governors office in less that two years and in a come-from-behind reelection to beat Baker in 2010.

There is a real grass-roots excitement since the Trump election, which will carry over to the state elections in 2018, Rubin predicts. They are looking for an opportunity to push back. And Democrats win when our base is engaged and motivated.

Originally posted here:
Charlie who? Democrats focus ire toward Trump - The Boston Globe

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, seen here during a May 3 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is one of the Democratic lawmakers and rights groups criticizing the Republican head of the Senate intelligence committee for seeking the return of copies of a report on CIA treatment of detainees after 9/11. Photo by REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque.

WASHINGTON Democratic lawmakers and rights groups criticized the Republican head of the Senate intelligence committee on Friday for seeking the return of copies of a report on CIA treatment of detainees after 9/11. The critics claimed Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the committee chairman, is trying to erase history by making it harder for the public to ever see the classified document.

Burr said federal courts have ruled the report is a congressional document and asked for copies held by intelligence bodies and other executive branch agencies to be returned. If the report remained in the hands of executive branch officials, it would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Congressional materials are not.

The CIA and the agencys inspector generals office, as well as the national intelligence directors office, have returned their copies. The FBI and the State, Justice and Defense departments also have copies of the 6,770-page report.

READ MORE: What to know about the CIA interrogation report

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a former Democratic chairman of the committee, called Burrs move alarming and concerning.

This creates a dangerous precedent, she said, warning that countless historical reports and records could be nullified under the same procedure. No senator chairman or not has the authority to erase history. I believe that is the intent of the chairman.

The so-called torture report has a long history.

The Senate intelligence committee spent years investigating the CIAs detention and harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists captured by the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack. The techniques authorized by the Bush administration included waterboarding. Interrogations were conducted in clandestine prisons around the world that were not in the jurisdiction of U.S. courts or the military justice system.

In December 2014, the committee published a declassified summary of the report. The full report remained classified, but it was sent to several government agencies.

Democrats and Republicans fought bitterly over the contents.

This creates a dangerous precedent No senator chairman or not has the authority to erase history. I believe that is the intent of the chairman. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

In 2015, Burr asked government agencies under the Obama administration to send report copies back. They didnt. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the CIA for the entire classified report, but hasnt received it.

After more than two years of litigation, the federal courts have ruled that the Senate intelligence committees 2014 full report on the CIAs detention and interrogation program is a congressional document, Burr said in a statement Friday. I have directed my staff to retrieve copies of the congressional study that remain with the executive branch agencies and, as the committee does with all classified and compartmented information, will enact the necessary measures to protect the sensitive sources and methods contained within the report.

There are certain copies of the report, however, that might not be returned.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Feinstein in a written response to questions that he would not return the Justice Departments copy of the report to the Senate.

Katherine Hawkins, senior counsel at the Constitution Project, an advocacy group, said another copy is included in Obamas presidential papers, which are being handled by the National Archives. That copy is subject to the Presidential Records Act, and getting that declassified could take years and might never happen.

Hawkins said the Defense Departments copy also is particularly important because it provides evidence that could be used in the military commission trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees. A military commission judge this week ordered the Defense Department to preserve its copy so it could possibly be used in the trial of Majid Khan, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents the detainee.

The Senate report details the horrors of the CIA torture program, including the rape and sexual assault of (our) client Majid Khan and the ways the agency misled Congress, the courts and the public about the program, the center said in a statement.

Democratic senators and rights groups were unanimous in their opposition to Burrs move.

The Defense Departments copy is particularly important because it provides evidence that could be used in the military commission trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, tweeted that the report must be preserved so we can learn from past mistakes and ensure that abuses are never repeated.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the report was a historical record that belongs to all Americans.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a former member of the intelligence committee, said, The report contains difficult facts to face, but they must be aired.

Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLUs National Security Project, said agencies shouldnt return the CIA torture report to Congress but should read and learn from it. This critically important investigation should have been made public and must not be buried or destroyed, Shamsi said.

Physicians for Human Rights called the report the most comprehensive accounting of the CIAs torture program. Its findings are critical to understanding how so many mistakes were made and how to avoid making such grievous, harmful errors in the future, Sarah Dougherty with the New York-based group said.

Read more:
Democrats say GOP is trying to bury torture report - PBS NewsHour