Judge Refuses to Delve into CIA Tape Destruction

Guantanamo/Detainees

Judge Refuses to Delve into CIA Tape Destruction

Posted Jan 10, 2008, 06:46 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., says a Justice Department investigation into the destruction of two CIA interrogation videotapes should be sufficient, and there is no need for the court to investigate.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy ruled after a hearing into whether the destruction violated his court order preserving evidence in the case of 11 Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Kennedy said the destroyed tapes involved two suspects who were questioned before they arrived at the U.S. facility in Cuba, so they would not have been covered by his preservation order, Reuters reports.

Kennedy said in his ruling yesterday that he expects Justice Department investigators “will follow the facts wherever they may lead,” the Washington Post reports.

The detainees' lawyers "offer nothing to support their assertion that a judicial inquiry ... is warranted," Kennedy wrote.

Meanwhile, the former chief of the CIA’s clandestine branch has informed the he House intelligence committee that he won’t testify about the incident without immunity from prosecution, the Post story says. Jose Rodriguez, who reportedly gave written approval to destroy the tapes, had been subpoenaed to testify next week.

Sources told the Post that Justice Department officials have refused to turn over government records of the incident to Rodriguez.

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