“Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a former member of the Intelligence Committee who sits on Judiciary, appeared briefly to remind colleagues that lawmakers have few options to discuss or oppose policies they learn of during classified intelligence briefings.”
One of the few options you do have is to leak info that makes the political opposition look bad. Senator “Leaky” Leahy was a master of this. He endangered national secuity to score quick political points.
None of the RATS including Durbin can convince me if they thought waterboarding was illegal and objected to it at the time they couldn’t have done something about it to stop it. They went along because it was getting results and saving lives.