U.S. President Obama:
“There are a lot of folks who work very hard after 9/11 to keep us safe – during a very hazardous situation and a time when people were unsure of what was taking place.”

“But what was also true is, is that we took some steps that were contrary to who we are, contrary to our values.”

“Unfortunately, as the Senate report shows, we engaged in some brutal activity after 9/11, and, you know, this is an accounting of some of the problems that the CIA program engaged in.”

“I recognize that there’s controversies in terms of some of the details, but what’s not controversial is the fact that we did some things that violated who we are as a people.”

Per the Washington Post, Obama signed executive orders in 2009 to fulfill a pledge to end what he called torture. When asked if he could say that no one in his administration had engaged in torture, the president said he can “categorically say that anybody who engaged in any behavior like this would be directly violating my executive orders and my policies as president of the United States, and would be held into account and would be breaking the law.”