LAS VEGAS " Nevada Sen. John Ensign is defending the federal judge who signed a memo authorizing brutal interrogation of terror suspects.
The Republican says calls to remove Judge Jay Bybee of Las Vegas from his seat on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are "outrageous."
As a senior Justice Department attorney in 2002, Bybee wrote that simulated drowning, sleep deprivation, cramped confinement in boxes and other tactics were not torture. Since the Obama administration released Bybee's memo last week, some have called for Bybee's impeachment.
Ensign say he agrees with Bybee's reasoning.
Ensign and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid sponsored Bybee's appointment to the bench.
A spokesman for Reid says the Democrat hasn't made a decision on the matter.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com