Could it Be? Is Obama Planning on Prosecuting Bush Officials?

On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel indicated the administration wouldn't prosecute Bush administration officials responsible for U.S. torture policies. Around the same time, however, David Axelrod said something slightly different.

So where are we? It appears the door to prosecutions is once again ajar.

Pressure mounted on President Obama on Monday for more thorough investigation into harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects under the Bush administration, even as he tried to reassure the Central Intelligence Agency that it would not be blamed for following legal advice.

Mr. Obama said it was time to admit "mistakes" and "move forward." But there were signs that he might not be able to avoid a protracted inquiry into the use of interrogation techniques that the president's top aides and many critics say crossed the line into torture.

And while Mr. Obama vowed not to prosecute C.I.A. officers for acting on legal advice, on Monday aides did not rule out legal sanctions for the Bush lawyers who developed the legal basis for the use of the techniques.