Senator: White House Simply Doesn't "Want Public to Know" Scope of CIA Torture

"'They had a specialty for being unforthcoming in our efforts at oversight,' he added, 'and therefore there is no incentive for them to change their behavior.'"

Meanwhile, a coalition of advocacy groups -- including RootsAction, Demand Progress, Win Without War, CodePink, USAction, and others -- argue the senators on the Intelligence Committe have another path if they truly want to give the public a look at the scope of the abuses perpetrated by the CIA. And, according to the groups, the senators have no obligation to wait for permission from the White House to act. As the coalition points out in a statement, "Members of Congress have an absolute right to free speech, and a member could enter the report into the Congressional Record in its entirety -- just as the Pentagon Papers were by Senator Mike Gravel in 1971 -- without fear of prosecution."

An online petition sponsored by the coalition, which they intend to deliver to members of the committee, reads in part:

"The Senate Intelligence Committee's 'torture report' is expected to detail shocking abuse of prisoners at the hands of the CIA during the Bush administration, and even possible CIA lying to Congress.

"But seven months after the Senate Intelligence Committee voted overwhelmingly to release the report to the American people, the White House is stonewalling Congress and demanding 'redactions' -- blacked-out sections and information -- before making its contents public."

The group has put particular focus on outgoing Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) to step forward and release the report. Udall lost his re-election bid earlier this month and will be leaving the Senate in January. Signers of the petition say that if Udall, or other members in a position to do so, take the "heroic and courageous act" of releasing the full report, "we and countless others will support you."