Washington ( CNN ) -- The Justice Department on Thursday closed its criminal investigation of the deaths of two prisoners in CIA custody , ending a controversial investigation that Attorney General Eric Holder had approved more than a year ago . The investigation , conducted by veteran Justice prosecutor John Durham , examined alleged CIA interrogation abuses in connection with prisoner deaths at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003 and at a secret prison in Afghanistan in 2002 . If the probe had led to criminal charges against CIA officers or contractors , it could have ignited a firestorm of objections by Republican lawmakers and the national security community . Holder acknowledged that he made a controversial decision to appointed Durham in 2009 to examine allegations of CIA interrogation abuses in about 100 cases . His aides say he was aware the Obama White House wanted the torture controversies put behind it , but Holder pressed on . Republican lawmakers and the CIA were upset about the new review of alleged detainee mistreatment . In June 2011 , Durham concluded that nearly all of the allegations should not be prosecuted . However , he said he would look into two cases in which prisoners died while in custody . On Thursday , Holder said no charges would be brought in those cases . `` Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham has now completed his investigations , and the Department has decided not to initiate criminal charges in these matters , '' Holder said in a written statement . While praising the work of the men and women in the U.S. intelligence community , he left unanswered whether he believes inappropriate actions were taken against prisoners during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . `` Our inquiry was limited to a determination of whether prosecutable offenses were committed and was not intended to , and does not resolve , broader questions regarding the propriety of the examined conduct , '' Holder said . CIA Director David Petraeus sent a statement to all CIA employees marking the end of the investigation and ignoring the lingering controversies . `` As intelligence officers , our inclination , of course , is to look ahead to the challenges of the future rather than backwards at those of the past . Nonetheless it was very important that we supported fully the Justice Department in its efforts , '' he said .
Justice Department closes criminal investigation of alleged CIA abuses in 2002 , 2003 . It looked at the deaths at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at a secret prison in Afghanistan . Prosecutor originally looked into allegations of CIA interrogation abuses in about 100 cases . In 2011 , investigation was narrowed to two cases , which were closed Thursday .