By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer
December 10, 2007
WASHINGTON - White House lawyers have advised President Bush's
spokeswoman not to answer specific questions about why the
CIA destroyed tapes of terror suspects under interrogation,
as Congress seeks answers about the matter.
The Justice Department and the CIA's internal watchdog are
conducting a joint inquiry into the spy agency's destruction
of videotaped interrogations of two suspected terrorists, to
determine whether a full investigation is warranted. With that
review ongoing, the White House counsel's office has instructed
Bush's press secretary, Dana Perino, not to get into details
with reporters.
"I think that that's appropriate, and I'll adhere to
it," Perino said Monday. She said her previous statement
remains accurate that Bush has no recollection of hearing about
the tapes' existence or their destruction before being briefed
about it last Thursday.
The White House typically stops commenting beyond broad talking
points once an inquiry into a controversial matter is under
way. When a reporter asked about another White House "wall
of silence," Perino told the media in her morning briefing: "I
can see where that cynicism that usually drifts from this room
could come up in this regard. What I can tell you is I try
my best to get you as much information as I can."
Attorneys for one detainee say the destruction of the tapes
may have violated a court order and have asked a federal judge
to hold a hearing. In a court filing, attorneys for Yemeni
national Mahmoad Abdah point to a June 10, 2005 court order
telling the government to "preserve and maintain all evidence
and information regarding the torture, mistreatment, and abuse
of detainees."
A hearing on the tapes has not yet been set.
Congressional leaders are pressing to find out who knew what
about the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotape and
whether justice was obstructed in the process. Politicians
in both parties and in the presidential campaign said inquiries
must get to the bottom of the matter and questioned if anyone
in the White House knew what was happening. But there appears
to be little support for appointment of a special prosecutor.
Democrats and some Republicans expressed skepticism about
CIA claims that tapes of the questioning of two terrorism suspects
were destroyed only to protect the identity of the interrogators.
"The actions, I think, were absolutely wrong," Republican
presidential candidate John McCain, a victim of torture while
a war prisoner in Vietnam, said Sunday. "There will be
skepticism and cynicism all over the world about how we treat
prisoners and whether we practice torture or not."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday she has no
memory of the CIA videotapes.
"First of all, I think my take is that, well, this is
an internal matter for the CIA," Rice said. "I was
secretary of state in 2005, indeed, and I can tell you that
I myself don't recollect any knowledge of the tapes." She
refused further comment, citing a Department of Justice investigation.
GOP presidential rival Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor,
questioned whether the CIA destroyed the tape for security
purposes as claimed "or to cover somebody's rear end."
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a Democratic presidential candidate
and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called
for a special counsel. "I just think it's clearer and
crisper and everyone will know what the truth is," he
said.
That view was not shared by fellow Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller
of West Virginia, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee,
or a number of other prominent Democrats.
"I don't think there's a need for a special counsel,
and I don't think there's a need for a special commission," Rockefeller
said. "It is the job of the intelligence committees to
do that."
The spy agency destroyed the tapes in November 2005, at a
time when human rights groups and lawyers for detainees were
clamoring for information about the agency's secret detention
and interrogation program, and Congress and U.S. courts were
debating whether "enhanced interrogation" crossed
the line into torture.
Rockefeller, citing the confidentiality of certain intelligence
briefings, said he could not comment on the existence of any
other interrogation tapes. He said CIA Director Michael Hayden
would appear before his committee Tuesday.
Biden cited Attorney General Michael Mukasey's refusal during
confirmation hearings to describe waterboarding as torture
as a reason to appoint an independent counsel.
"He's the same guy who couldn't decide whether or not
waterboarding was torture and he's going to be doing this investigation," said
Biden.
Hayden told CIA employees Thursday that the recordings were
destroyed out of fear the tapes would leak and reveal the identities
of interrogators.
Biden spoke on "This Week" on ABC; Rockefeller appeared
on "Face the Nation" on CBS; McCain and Huckabee
on "Fox News Sunday."
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