CIA, Justice review of destroyed tapes(prelim joint review)

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and CIA announced a joint inquiry Saturday into the spy agency's destruction of videotapes of interrogations of two suspected terrorists.

The review will determine whether a full investigation is warranted.

"I welcome this inquiry and the CIA will cooperate fully," CIA Director Mike Hayden said in a statement. "I welcome it as an opportunity to address questions that have arisen over the destruction back in 2005 of videotapes."

Hayden told agency employees Thursday that the recordings were destroyed out of fear the tapes would leak and reveal the identities of interrogators. He said the sessions were videotaped to provide an added layer of legal protection for interrogators using new, harsh methods authorized by President Bush as a way to break down the defenses of recalcitrant prisoners.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/5362915.html

---

The Scapegoat

~snip~

As the story concerning the CIA’s decision to destroy vital evidence of its program of detainee abuse unfolds, the Bush Administration’s posture on the matter is shifting decisively. This is called “damage control.” The Administration’s initial posture was to have CIA Director Hayden put the best face on the situation and argue that everything that was done was perfectly legal and correct.

So now we come to phase two: the fall-back position. In phase two, we learn that the president and other senior figures in the Administration know nothing about it. Instead, this was all a rogue operation by a second tier leadership figure at the CIA. And indeed, by midday yesterday, White House off-the-record explainers were extremely busy pointing fingers at one man, the designated scapegoat. The New York Times has the story:

White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday. The chief of the agency’s clandestine service nevertheless ordered their destruction in November 2005, taking the step without notifying even the C.I.A.’s own top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, who was angry at the decision, the officials said. . .

Top C.I.A. officials had decided in 2003 to preserve the tapes in response to warnings from White House lawyers and lawmakers that destroying the tapes would be unwise, in part because it could carry legal risks, the government officials said.

But the government officials said that Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the chief of the agency’s clandestine service, the Directorate of Operations, had reversed that decision in November 2005, at a time when Congress and the courts were inquiring deeply into the C.I.A.’s interrogation and detention program. Mr. Rodriguez could not be reached Friday for comment.

more:http://harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001877


-- Text of letter regarding joint DOJ and CIA inquiry into destruction of videotaped CIA interrogations.

John A. Rizzo
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505

Dear Mr. Rizzo:

I am writing this letter to confirm our discussions over the past several days regarding the destruction of videotapes of interrogations conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Consistent with these discussions, the Department of Justice will conduct a preliminary inquiry into the facts to determine whether further investigation is warranted. I understand that you have undertaken to preserve any records or other documentation that would facilitate this inquiry. The Department will conduct this inquiry in conjunction with the CIA's Office of Inspector General (OIG).

My colleagues and I would like to meet with your Office and OIG early next week regarding this inquiry. Based on our recent discussions, I understand that your Office has already reviewed the circumstances surrounding the destruction of the videotapes, as well as the existence of any pending relevant investigations or other preservation obligations at the time the destruction occurred. As a first step in our inquiry, I ask that you provide us the substance of that review at the meeting.

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/08/AR2007120800997.html

[shraby]

1. The wolf and the fox are going to

investigate the henhouse. Great!

[fascisthunter]

2. COVER-UP... It's WHY America is so Corrupt

and it's gonna get worse because of it.

[pinkpops]

3. Boy, I feel better now.

I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it and punish all wrongdoers.

[Warren Stupidity]

4. Hey if I go willfully destroy evidence of a serious crime

can I also get a sit down with the DOJ to review the situation so that the DOJ and I can jointly decide if any further investigation is required?

And as a follow up, is there even the slightest chance that the outcome of this 'joint review' will be anything other than "nothing to see here, move along"?

Planet Stupid is my kind of planet. There is no end to the stupidity.

[yellowcanine]

5. Fox and Fox's friend Weasel will investigate why the hens disappeared from the henhouse.

[bleever]

6. His use of "the destruction back in 2005 of videotapes" is an awkward tell,

in light of Larisa's notice of the tapes being viewed in 2007.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2431476

He's lying.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Inquiry Begins Into Destruction of Tapes

Source: New York Times

By MARK MAZZETTI and DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: December 9, 2007

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 — The Justice Department and the Central Intelligence Agency’s internal watchdog on Saturday began a joint preliminary inquiry into the spy agency’s destruction of hundreds of hours of videotapes showing interrogations of top operatives of Al Qaeda. The announcement comes amid new questions about which officials inside the C.I.A. were involved in the decision to destroy the videotapes, which showed severe interrogation methods used on two Qaeda suspects, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

The agency operative who ordered the destruction of the tapes in November 2005 was Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the chief of the C.I.A.’s national clandestine service, known as the Directorate of Operations until 2005. On Saturday, a government official who had spoken recently with Mr. Rodriguez on the matter said that Mr. Rodriguez told him that he had received approval from lawyers inside the clandestine service to destroy the tapes. This disclosure could broaden the scope of the inquiry into the tapes’ destruction. Several officials said that top lawyers at the White House and the Justice Department advised the C.I.A. in 2003 not to destroy the videos.

Current and former intelligence officials said that the agency’s senior lawyer, John A. Rizzo, had not been notified about the decision and was angered to learn about the destruction of the tapes, which could complicate the prosecution of Abu Zubaydah and others....

***

Officials have acknowledged that the destruction of evidence like videotaped interrogations could raise questions about whether the C.I.A. was seeking to hide evidence of coercion. A review of records from military tribunals indicates that five lower-level detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, were initially charged with offenses based on information provided by or related to Abu Zubaydah.

Military defense lawyers said the fact that interrogation tapes were destroyed could provide a way to challenge other cases that may be based on information from Abu Zubaydah, though such challenges would face major legal obstacles under the current rules for military prosecutions. They said the defense could argue that the tapes might have raised questions about whether the information was believable or whether Abu Zubaydah had invented it simply to stop aggressive interrogation techniques....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/washington/09zubaydah.html?ref=todayspaper