Thread: Mukasey: Criminal inquiry begins into CIA tapes

Mukasey: Criminal inquiry begins into CIA tapes
CIA said last month it had destroyed recordings of harsh interrogations

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes, and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said Wednesday that he appointed an outside prosecutor to oversee the case.

The CIA acknowledged last month that it destroyed videos of officers using tough interrogation methods while questioning two al-Qaida suspects. The acknowledgment sparked a congressional inquiry and a preliminary investigation by Justice.

"The Department's National Security Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to begin that investigation," Mukasey said in a statement released Wednesday.

Mukasey named John Durham, a federal prosecutor, to oversee the case. Durham has a reputation as one of the most relentless U.S. prosecutors. He served as an outside prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the FBI's use of mob informants in Boston and helped send several Connecticut public officials to prison.

"The CIA will of course cooperate fully with this investigation as it has with the others into this matter," agency spokesman Mark Mansfield said.

The CIA has already agreed to open its files to congressional investigators, who have begun reviewing documents at the agency's headquarters. The House Intelligence Committee has ordered Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA official who directed the tapes be destroyed, to appear at a hearing Jan. 16.

The videos destroyed in 2005 included hundreds of hours of tapes from the interrogations of two al-Qaida suspects, prompting an outcry from Democrats, human rights activists and some legal experts.

The interrogations, which took place in 2002, were believed to have included a form of simulated drowning known as waterboarding, condemned internationally as torture.

President Bush has said the United States does not torture but has declined to be specific about interrogation methods.

Rodriguez's attorney, Robert S. Bennett, had no comment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22474868/

(My 2 Cents: Again folks.. it all goes back to Bush, They dont call this a Criminal inquiry for the sake of the name. I thought the Clintons were corrupt.. but this administration has broken so many of our laws much less international treaties it is scary. The CIA had to have permission to do this from the highest levels of our government to do what they did

Just look at our own borders.. this man enforces laws he wants and breaks laws he doesnt like ... let me remind you it doesnt work like that.

No man... to include this baffoon is above the law)

It's already been discussed about Pelosi and other dems knowing about these tapes and not protesting. I predict there won't be much of an investigation because both sides are at fault.

The U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes, and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said Wednesday that he appointed an outside prosecutor to oversee the case.

I do NOT advocate the use of violence nor torture under any conditions nor the destruction of evidence and feels it warrents an investigation. People need to be held accountable for their actions and orders. I do question the timing of this investigation--the pro illegal immigration groups need to take the focus off the anti-illegal immigration problem in the up-coming election.

Why hasn't the US Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into why the Mexican/US fence hasn't been built, what happened to the funding and why aren't our immigration laws enforced?

In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt