Congresswoman Releases Letter Opposing Videotape Destruction

A congresswoman has released a copy of a letter she sent to the CIA in February 2003 urging against destruction of the agency’s videotapes of harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects, the Washington Post reports.

U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said in the letter that she had learned of the planned destruction of one tape from CIA general counsel Scott Muller, and she urged him to reconsider, the Post says.

The tapes were not destroyed for two more years, in 2005. In the meantime CIA officials debated the issue.

The Justice Department has announced a formal criminal inquiry into the destruction of the tapes. The New York Times, in a news analysis, says the investigation of the CIA will largely be carried out by the FBI in what some law enforcement officials view as payback for years of rivalry between the two organizations.