Witnesses testified about the Bush Administration’s detention and interrogation program for prisoners and enemy combatants. This was the first hearing on the topic since the release of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel’s (OLC) memos on the subject which authorized techniques many analysts considered torture. 

This opening portion of the hearing contained members' opening statements and the remarks by Professor Luban prior to a break to permit rearrangement of the hearing room in preparation for Mr. Sufan’s appearance behind a screen to protect his identity from cameras.