CIA eliminates incriminating evidence, destroys interrogation tapes
- From: Gordon <independent@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 08:31:11 -0500
Given the last seven years, expectations are already low for the
administration that?s never seen justice it didn?t want to obstruct.
But intentionally destroying evidence of a possible crime, in the
midst of ongoing legal inquiries, suggests the Bush gang?s contempt
for the rule of law can?t get much worse.
http://tinyurl.com/2o5urt
The Central Intelligence Agency in 2005 destroyed at least two
videotapes documenting the interrogation of two Qaeda operatives in
the agency?s custody, a step it took in the midst of Congressional and
legal scrutiny about its secret detention program, according to
current and former government officials.
The videotapes showed agency operatives in 2002 subjecting
terrorism suspects ? including Abu Zubaydah, the first detainee in
C.I.A. custody ? to severe interrogation techniques. The tapes were
destroyed in part because officers were concerned that video showing
harsh interrogation methods could expose agency officials to legal
risks, several officials said.
In a statement to employees on Thursday, Gen. Michael V. Hayden,
the C.I.A. director, said that the decision to destroy the tapes was
made ?within the C.I.A.? and that they were destroyed to protect the
safety of undercover officers and because they no longer had
intelligence value.
The destruction of the tapes raises questions about whether agency
officials withheld information from Congress, the courts and the Sept.
11 commission about aspects of the program.
Indeed, it arguably does more than just ?raise questions?; it may
point to actual criminal wrongdoing, intended to cover up more
criminal wrongdoing. As Sullivan put it, ?What defines [a banana]
republic? How about an executive that ignores the rule of law, commits
war-crimes and then destroys the actual evidence? ? We live in a
country where the government can detain indefinitely, torture in
secret, and then secretly destroy the tapes of torture sessions to
protect its own staff.?
It?s that bad and more.
The NYT has reportedly been working on the story for weeks, and sought
comment from the CIA on Wednesday about the story that was poised to
run. In response, CIA Director Hayden hoped to take some control of
the revelations yesterday, issuing a statement to the agency?s
employees about the administration?s decision to destroy evidence.
General Hayden?s statement said that the tapes posed a ?serious
security risk? and that if they had become public they would have
exposed C.I.A. officials ?and their families to retaliation from Al
Qaeda and its sympathizers.? [?]
In his statement, General Hayden said leaders of Congressional
oversight committees had been fully briefed about the existence of the
tapes and told in advance of the decision to destroy them. But the two
top members of the House Intelligence Committee in 2005 said Thursday
that they had not been notified in advance of the decision to destroy
the tapes.
The explanation is neither helpful nor accurate. First, destroying
evidence to protect CIA officials from terrorists is absurd.
Tom Malinowski, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, said
General Hayden?s claim that the tapes were destroyed to protect C.I.A.
officers ?is not credible.?
?Millions of documents in C.I.A. archives, if leaked, would
identify C.I.A. officers,? Mr. Malinowski said. ?The only difference
here is that these tapes portray potentially criminal activity. They
must have understood that if people saw these tapes, they would
consider them to show acts of torture, which is a felony offense.?
Second, Hayden?s argument about congressional oversight is apparently
bogus. The leading Republican on the House Intelligence Committee at
the time was, according to his spokesperson, ?never briefed or advised
that these tapes existed, or that they were going to be destroyed,?
and believes Congress ?should have been informed and consulted before
the C.I.A. did anything with the tapes.? Likewise, the top Democrat on
the Committee said she urged the CIA not to destroy any evidence,
asking, ?How in the world could the C.I.A. claim that these tapes were
not relevant to a legislative inquiry??
Ultimately, the Bush administration hid the evidence from lawmakers,
federal investigators, a federal court, and the 9/11 Commission ? and
then destroyed it. Just when it seemed this administration couldn?t
possibly get worse, it gets worse.
Given this report, it?s hardly unreasonable for Congress to demand a
criminal investigation by the Justice Department of the CIA and anyone
in the White House who may have authorized the destruction of
evidence. It?s a no-brainer ? the Bush administration appears to have
committed a crime in order to cover up another crime.
Will Attorney General Michael Mukasey rise to the challenge, or will
he be Alberto Gonzales?
Steve Benen
.
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