The Hoffman Report
This section's goal is to provide students with information and resources pertinent to the Hoffman Report.
Updated 11 May 2020
Updated 11 May 2020
Student Webinar - 1 May 2020
Division 19's Response to Hoffman Report by Dr. Sally Harvey
| div19_response_to_hoffman_1_may_2020.pdf |
| hoffman_report_-_brief_fact_sheet.pdf |
Per the APA, "The APA Board of Directors engaged attorney David Hoffman of the law firm Sidley Austin in November 2014 to conduct an independent review of whether there was any factual support for the assertion that APA engaged in activity that would constitute collusion with the Bush administration to promote, support or facilitate the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques by the United States in the war on terror."
The subsequently released "Hoffman Report" was filled with disturbing claims, including that psychologists were involved in assisting interrogators in using torture to extract information from detainees. Information regarding this report and APA's response to it can be found here.
On July 14, 2015, the Hoffman Report was leaked to the New York Times and thereby the public. Our Division leadership, and Past President Tom Williams issued the following responses and related actions:
The subsequently released "Hoffman Report" was filled with disturbing claims, including that psychologists were involved in assisting interrogators in using torture to extract information from detainees. Information regarding this report and APA's response to it can be found here.
On July 14, 2015, the Hoffman Report was leaked to the New York Times and thereby the public. Our Division leadership, and Past President Tom Williams issued the following responses and related actions:
Division 19's Response to President Trump's Actions on Torture: 26JAN2017
"This morning, as some of you may be aware, the Washington Post and other news organizations published a draft executive order which calls for the review of current interrogation practices set forth in various executive and legislative mandates. If signed by President Trump, this executive order would stand in sharp contrast to a letter sent earlier this month, with signatures from 176 of the nation’s most respected retired generals and admirals, which reinforced the United States’ bipartisan opposition to torture.
As Division 19, the Society for Military Psychology within the American Psychological Association, whose members include representatives from all military branches, we strongly urge President Trump to restrain from loosening any rules governing the treatment of individuals in military custody. The members of Division 19 assert and affirm that torture or abusive treatment is deeply inconsistent with the ethics and values inherent to military service, our profession as psychologists and our stature as American citizens.
In direct contrast to statements made by the administration, experienced intelligence professionals and politicians from both sides of the aisle agree that torture is not effective and, more importantly, does not represent who we are as a nation – it is immoral. Moreover, the science of gathering human intelligence does not support any claims of effectiveness. The respect for human rights and the acquisition of actionable intelligence are not mutually exclusive, despite claims by some that they are.
Last year, Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Feinstein (D-CA) sponsored legislation that reinforces the United States’ ban on the use of torture. That legislation passed the Senate with the support of a broad bipartisan majority. APA proudly supported that legislation, as did the membership of Division 19.
Speaking with one voice, we urge President Trump, in the strongest terms, to maintain the current legislative framework that recognizes the need for national security and respect for human rights."
Sally C. Harvey, PhD
President, Division 19
Ann T. Landes, PhD
Past-President, Division 19
Mark A. Staal, PhD
President-Elect, Division 19
"This morning, as some of you may be aware, the Washington Post and other news organizations published a draft executive order which calls for the review of current interrogation practices set forth in various executive and legislative mandates. If signed by President Trump, this executive order would stand in sharp contrast to a letter sent earlier this month, with signatures from 176 of the nation’s most respected retired generals and admirals, which reinforced the United States’ bipartisan opposition to torture.
As Division 19, the Society for Military Psychology within the American Psychological Association, whose members include representatives from all military branches, we strongly urge President Trump to restrain from loosening any rules governing the treatment of individuals in military custody. The members of Division 19 assert and affirm that torture or abusive treatment is deeply inconsistent with the ethics and values inherent to military service, our profession as psychologists and our stature as American citizens.
In direct contrast to statements made by the administration, experienced intelligence professionals and politicians from both sides of the aisle agree that torture is not effective and, more importantly, does not represent who we are as a nation – it is immoral. Moreover, the science of gathering human intelligence does not support any claims of effectiveness. The respect for human rights and the acquisition of actionable intelligence are not mutually exclusive, despite claims by some that they are.
Last year, Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Feinstein (D-CA) sponsored legislation that reinforces the United States’ ban on the use of torture. That legislation passed the Senate with the support of a broad bipartisan majority. APA proudly supported that legislation, as did the membership of Division 19.
Speaking with one voice, we urge President Trump, in the strongest terms, to maintain the current legislative framework that recognizes the need for national security and respect for human rights."
Sally C. Harvey, PhD
President, Division 19
Ann T. Landes, PhD
Past-President, Division 19
Mark A. Staal, PhD
President-Elect, Division 19
Division 19 Responses and Relevant Actions
Response to Hoffman Independent Review: Division 19 Presidential Task Force
The leadership of the Society for Military Psychology (Division 19 of the American Psychological Association) has forwarded a special Task Force report to the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association that calls into question the accuracy and completeness of an almost $5 million independent review ("Hoffman" report) that APA has been using to change its policies.
The Division 19 Task Force report calls into question the basis for what it considers reactive and aggressive policy changes the APA is now taking to deny any psychologists (to include U.S. military psychologists) from serving in the areas of national security (especially in interrogation support to stop or reduce the risk of threats against our homeland, military or our partners around the world).
A cover letter endorsed by the Division 19 leadership calls on APA for corrective action and provides recommendations to the APA leadership. Division 19 President, Dr. Tom Williams, in forwarding the report, stated the Task Force report offers "very compelling and well-documented evidence that is deserving of your careful attention and action," and to ensure America's largest professional organization of psychologists "secure(s) a future committed to an absolute foundation of truth and science we all deserve."
The Division 19 Task Force report follows, along with the letter to the APA Board of Directors. Please feel free to share.
The Division 19 Task Force report calls into question the basis for what it considers reactive and aggressive policy changes the APA is now taking to deny any psychologists (to include U.S. military psychologists) from serving in the areas of national security (especially in interrogation support to stop or reduce the risk of threats against our homeland, military or our partners around the world).
A cover letter endorsed by the Division 19 leadership calls on APA for corrective action and provides recommendations to the APA leadership. Division 19 President, Dr. Tom Williams, in forwarding the report, stated the Task Force report offers "very compelling and well-documented evidence that is deserving of your careful attention and action," and to ensure America's largest professional organization of psychologists "secure(s) a future committed to an absolute foundation of truth and science we all deserve."
The Division 19 Task Force report follows, along with the letter to the APA Board of Directors. Please feel free to share.
| tf19_response_to_the_hoffman_report_div19_excom_approved.pdf |
| division_19_letter_to_apa_bod_d19_task_force_report_9nov15__1_.pdf |
Division 19 Past President Dr. Tom Williams Response (2015)
Dr. Williams' response to the Hoffman Report, in full:
| division_19_presidential_response.docx |
Presidential Letter to APA Presidents
On July 29, 2015, Past President Dr. Tom Williams sent the following Presidential letter to APA Presidents:
| president_division_19_tom_williams_letter_to_dr__kaslow_et_al_29_jul_15.pdf |
Division 19 Hoffman Report Town Hall for Students
On 19 November, 2015, Dr. Tom Williams hosted a Town Hall on the Hoffman Report, APA's prohibition on psychologists' participation in national security interrogations, and their implications with particular emphasis on how these events will affect students' careers. The notes from that meeting follow:
| town_hall_meeting_notes_nov-19-2015_.pdf |
Division 19 Presidential Update
On August 25, 2015, Division 19's President Tom Williams issued the following statement detailing Division 19's planned actions, which included establishing a Division 19 Hoffman Task Force.
| president_update_re_the_hoffman_report_25_aug.docx |
Other Responses to the Hoffman Report (2015)
| final_release-newman-banks-dunivin-james-1aug2015.pdf |
Division 19 Policy Statement (2015)
On August 3, 2015, Division 19 released the following Policy Statement re-affirming our long-standing support of the APA Ethics Code and prohibition on torture.
| div19-position_statement_on_roles_of_psychologists_in_defense_and_security_environments_3_aug_2015.pdf |
Division 19 Policy Statement (2014)
Prior to the Sidney law firm's review and the release of the Hoffman Report, Division 19 released the following Position Statement, which can be found on pages 4-6 of our newsletter. This Position Statement makes clear that Division 19 has always expected all psychologists to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Ethics Code and all psychologists to report Ethics Code violations to the APA Ethics Committee.
| military_psychologist_summer_2014__includes_2014_position_statement_.pdf |
Other Responses to the Hoffman Report
Dr. Morgan Banks et al.'s Response to Hoffman:
"Hoffman's Key Conclusion Demonstrably False: The Omission of Key Documents and Facts Distorts the Truth"
On October 26, 2015, four of the key individuals named in the Hoffman Report (Cols (Ret) Morgan Banks, Debra Dunivin, & Larry James & Dr. Russ Newman) released the following document. Banks et al described the Hoffman Report as "a rhetoric-laden prosecutorial brief that ignores key facts, makes inferences based on guesswork, and imposes its own views and opinions about policy issues... Most damningly, it omits the very restrictive Department of Defense guidelines that governed military interrogations in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Guantanamo at the time of the PENS report." We encourage you to read the attached in its entirety.
| banks-etal-responsetodavidhoffman26oct2015.pdf |
Response by Lt Col David G. Bolgiano, USAF (Ret) & Lt Col John Taylor, USA (Ret)
Press Release issued by Dr. Banks, Dr. Dunivin, Dr. James, & Dr. Newman
A press release written by Morgan Banks, Deborah Dunivin, Larry James, and Russ Newman following APAs refusal to allow access to Mr. Hoffman's interview notes used in the creation of the report published on August 26th, 2015, can be found here.
Initial Response to the Hoffman Report by Dr. Dunivan, Dr. Banks, Dr. James, & Dr. Newman
On August 1, 2015, Debra Dunivan, Morgan Banks, Larry James, and Russ Newman, who are all named in the Report, issued a response which can be found here.
APAGS Response
Dr. Richard R. Kilburg, Call for Scientific Validation
Review of the report's need for scientific validation published on 27 August, 2015, can be found here.
Dr. Richard Kilburg - "On Hitting the Bulls-Eye While Missing the Point"
On August 2, 2015, Richard Kilburg posted an essay response to the Hoffman Project entitled "On Hitting the Bulls-Eye While Missing the Point" in which he argued that motivations were assigned to individuals named in the report by the Sidney Group, information from interviews was inaccurately represented, and the "curry favor" conclusion was off-base. The essay can be found here.
Official Department of Defense Response
On 8 January, 2016, the Department of Defense responded to the APA's action prohibiting psychologists from participating in national security interrogations and from serving the detainees held in locations such as Guantanamo. The DoD has asked that APA respectfully consider several points, which are detailed in the official letter below, which was from sent from Brad Carson, the Acting Principal Deputy of the Under Secretary of the DoD to Barry Anton, President, and Norman Anderson, CEO, of APA.
| signed_response_to_apa_01082016.pdf |
Vice News - "Accused of Enabling Torture, a US Military Psychologist Says He Was Doing the Opposite"
On 15, July 2015, Morgan Banks, one of the psychologists named within the Hoffman Report, issued the following response. He raised questions regarding whether the perspective of the Hoffman Report was too much a "prosecutor's argument to the grand jury" and argued against the motivations attributed to parties in the Hoffman Report. The article can be found here.
Actions by the APA Board of Directors, Council of Representatives and Leadership
APA Council of Representatives Vote
On August 7, 2015, the APA Council of Representatives voted 157-1 to prohibit psychologists from "participating in national security interrogation." Key provisions of the new APA policy can be found here.
A Timeline of related actions and policies including the suggested ethics code revisions (see below) can be found here.
A Timeline of related actions and policies including the suggested ethics code revisions (see below) can be found here.
Suggested Ethics Code Revisions
The APA has since called for comments on proposed language to revise Standard 3.04 of the Ethics Code to make the Council of Representatives vote enforceable. Division 19's responses to this proposition are available below.
| response_i-_division_19_response_to_apa_ethics_committee_call_for_comments__1_.pdf |
| response_ii_-_division_19_response_to_apa_ethics_committee_call_for_comments.pdf |
APA's Recent Actions as of April 2016
APA seeks clarification of the relevance of specific Department of Defense (DoD) policies related to Hoffman's original review, and rehires David Hoffman to conduct a supplemental review, and consider questions raised by the Division 19 Presidential Task Force report, and individual psychologists named in Hoffman's report. The official APA announcement can be found below.
| apa_and_hoffman.docx |
Former Chairs of the APA Ethics Committee wrote an open letter, dated 15 May 2016, to the APA Board of Directors concerning perceived, potential or actual conflicts of interest to re-engaging Mr. Hoffman to conduct a supplemental review. The Chairs' response may be found below.
| chairs_conflict_of_interest_statement.final.051516.pdf |
