Unplugged: "Crisis Moment" for the CIA

The Justice Department released today a voluminous report on interrogation techniques used during the Bush administration. The account was created in 2004 by the CIA inspector general, but hasn't been public until now. In addition, the White House announced that a new unit housed within the FBI and reporting to the White House will take the lead in interrogation of terror suspects.

CBS News' National Security Consultant Juan Zarate said this new structure for overseeing high level detainees could be "potentially problematic" for the White House.

"The White House tends to not want to get into operational matters," he said. "If you have a structure where the FBI head of this or the FBI director has to come to the White House or the national security adviser to get advice as to what steps to take, particular operational steps in an interrogation, that really starts to get dicey for the White House politically."

Former CIA case officer, Bob Baer said while the probe will certainly damage morale in Langley it is necessary to bring the once-classified report to light.

"I myself was investigated for the attempted murder of Saddam Hussein…My office was yellow taped by the FBI. I was polygraphed by the FBI. It certainly did not help my morale," Baer joked. However, he said he recovered and "there is no reason that the CIA should be above the law."

Interestingly, Zarate pointed out that CIA officers may start to wonder "what happens when political winds change." Will the politics of the sitting president be the determining factor in interrogation policy?

"This is a real crisis moment for the CIA," he said.

Watch the full episode above. "Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.