Doug Feith was on the Hill today to testify about the interrogation techniques in Guantanamo. Joining him before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties was his nemesis, Philippe Sands, who goes back a ways with Feith.

As Spencer Ackerman blogs at the Washington Independent, Feith started off the hearing denying the statements made in Sand's book, and then got right down to alleging that the Guantanamo interrogators were rogue agents:

After going back and forth with Feith--in which Feith conceded there were indeed abuses in Defense Dept. detention and interrogation operations-- Rep. Bobby Scott (D.-Va) asked why the abusers might think they could torture detainees. "I don't believe they necessarily did think they did" had authority to torture, Feith said. "Some people do bad things."

[Late Update]: According to Ackerman, Feith also spent a fair amount of time, detailing the "great care" given to the interpretation of the 2002 memo written by Jim Haynes:

"I imagine one could apply these things in an inhumane fashion," Feith replied. "'Removal of clothing' is different from 'naked.' ... It could be done in a humane way. . . They could be used in a way that could violate the [Geneva] Convention," he explained, "they could be used in a way consistent with the Convention."

Doug Feith is set to testify before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties today at 10 AM ET, to discuss interrogation techniques used on detainees. Feith has a history of not showing up for this Committee, so we'll see how it goes this time around.

Phillipe Sands, author of "Torture Team," reported in a recent Vanity Fair article that Feith boasted to him that he was a "real player" in the Guantanamo interrogation policy. Feith later defended himself, saying he'd been misquoted-- but Sands countered with the tapes from the interview. Sands will also be before the committee to testify.

We'll be covering the hearing as it happens, so stay tuned for updates.

Hell must be freezing over.

David Addington, the Vice President's Chief of Staff and executive privilege aficionado is set to testify with John Yoo, former Justice Department Official and spinner of words, on interrogation practices in Guantanamo this Thursday, June 26 in front of the House Judiciary Committee.

As we've reported before, this has been a long time coming. We're taking bets to see who pulls a Feith.

We reported yesterday that Douglas Feith, who played hookie from the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties last week, was about to get subpoenaed.

And now we're one step closer.

In a hearing today, the subcommittee voted to authorize chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to issue a subpoena to compel Feith's testimony. In a statement at the hearing, Nadler said:

It is simply not prudent to rely on the voluntary promise to appear of a witness who already has broken [a voluntary] agreement. I hope that it will not become necessary to issue this subpoena, but Congress has the prerogative and duty to conduct meaningful oversight to ensure a robust system of checks and balances.

Former Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith had agreed to testify before a House Judiciary subommittee on interrogation techniques used on detainees, but when June 18 rolled around, Feith was nowhere to be found.

In response subcommittee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has announced that he will consider issuing a subpoena to force Feith's testimony at a subcommittee meeting tomorrow afternoon.

This is not the first time the House has been forced to issue a subpoena to attempt to compel testimony regarding interrogation techniques. David Addington, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, was subpoenaed in early May of this year.