Democrats Furious over Destroyed Interrogation Videos
December 7, 2007
Democrats in Congress are crying “cover-up” after the CIA announced that it had destroyed tapes on which the 2002 interrogations of terror suspects were recorded. The agency said it had destroyed the tapes in 2005. The Democrats, terrorism suspects’ lawyers, and human rights groups are claiming that the tapes contained evidence of illegal interrogation techniques, but the CIA claims that the interrogations were conducted legally and that the tapes were destroyed to protect the identities of its agents (Associated Press).
Congressional leaders said they would be conducting investigations into the legality of the tapes’ destruction, including whether they were wrongly withheld from the 9/11 Commission and whether those responsible were guilty of obstruction of justice.
Dana Perino, the White House Press Secretary, said that if Attorney General Michael Mukasey chose to investigate the matter, “of course the White House would support that.” As to whether President Bush was aware of the tapes and the circumstances of their destruction she said, “I asked the president about whether he knew about the tapes and their existence or their destruction, he said he had no recollection of that” (Reuters).
