James Mitchell and John Bruce Jessen, a pair of military psychologists hired by the CIA to design its post-9/11 “enhanced interrogation techniques,” deny the agency’s claim that they are the architects of the program, according to a story published by the New York Times today. In January, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit against Mitchell and Jessen on behalf of three former prisoners — one of whom died in CIA custody — for designing the “abusive procedures, conditions, and cruel treatment” CIA captives suspected of terrorism faced as part of their interrogation.

“I deliberated with great, soulful torment about this, and obviously I concluded that it could be done safely or I wouldn’t have done it,” Jessen said in his deposition, the video of which was obtained by the Times. Mitchell and Jessen didn’t interrogate CIA prisoners themselves, but they designed the techniques used to question more than 100 detainees. Both men deny that detainees subjected to waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and beatings have suffered any long-term physical or emotional damage.

In his deposition, Jose Rodriguez, former head of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, admitted that the agency wasn’t concerned with the safety of its prisoners. “Frankly, my interest was in getting results, not in the psychological state of the people,” Rodriguez said.

Mitchell added that he and Jessen were pushed to do “whatever was legal” in order to obtain results. “The attorneys at the time said, ‘The gloves are off, and we need to walk right up to the line of what’s legal.’”