December 06, 2007

Report: CIA Destroyed Tapes Of Terror Interrogations

UPDATED.

The CIA in 2005 destroyed video evidence of at least two interrogation sessions involving al-Qaida operatives, "current and government officials" tell the New York Times in a report posted online today. The agency's destruction of the tapes is possibly illegal, as lawmakers and the executive branch are engaged in a battle over information about the methods and techniques used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects.

In a memo obtained by AP, Director Michael Hayden said the tapes were destroyed to protect the identities of interrogators and their families. The House and Senate were briefed on the process, Hayden said, and the CIA's internal watchdog signed off, in "the absence of any legal or internal reason to keep them."

But: "It's a big deal, it's a very big deal," says American University law professor Daniel Marcus in the Times.

Posted at 6:15 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, CIA
Share via