President Barack Obama's plan to re-establish ties with Cuba shows the commander-in-chief will "tip his hat" to any tyrannical regime, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey says.
"I've not looked into the question of his authority. I'm sure that Congress is going to have something to say about it, some role in it, and I don't think it's a good deal," Mukasey said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
"We've got a couple of prisoners out and it raises again the question of, is there no tyrannical regime that he won't cooperate with, tip his hat to?
"Remember, this is not the first time. He's done it with the Iranians, he's done it with others, and he's apologized to half the world for the United States. He's done it with the Russians and now he's tipping his cap to Cuba."
Mukasey's reaction came after the president revealed this week that he is restoring diplomatic ties with the communist island, ending the United States' final tie to the Cold War.
"I don't see where this ends or where this ends in his favor," said Mukasey, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007.
Commenting on the criticism hurled at the CIA by a Senate Intelligence Committee report which ripped it's use of torture on terror suspects, Mukasey insists the agency did everything by the book.
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on DIRECTV Ch. 349 and DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now
"It's important to understand what the legal definition of torture is … Law forbids torture. Torture is defined as acting under color of law with the intent to cause somebody severe physical or mental pain or suffering," Mukasey said.
"Severe physical pain or suffering is not defined. Severe mental pain or suffering is defined in terms of duration. It's got to be lasting, not just transitory. It's defined as something arising from among other things severe physical pain or suffering. So then the question becomes, well, does waterboarding cause that?"
He said waterboarding involves "putting somebody down on a slanted board with his feet slightly higher than his head, putting a towel over his face, and then pouring water intermittently on his nose or mouth for period not to exceed 40 seconds at a time."
He noted that terror suspect Khalid Sheik Muhammad "actually resisted that technique. He was actually seen to be tapping his fingers so as to keep track of the passage of time because he came to realize how long it would last.
"There have been more reporters voluntarily waterboarded then there have been terrorists … I don't think they would have undergone it if they really thought it was torture."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.