CIA Clandestine Chief Believed He Had Tacit Approval to Destroy Tapes
The CIA official who headed the CIA’s clandestine operations division, Jose Rodriguez Jr., believed he had tacit approval to destroy two videotapes of harsh interrogations because he was never given an order to preserve them, the Washington Post reports.
Rodriguez had been advised not to destroy the tapes but was never expressly told he could not do so, leading Rodriguez to believe he had implicit approval, Rodriguez’s lawyer, Robert Bennett, and anonymous officials told the Post. Bennett said Senate and House intelligence leaders were told of the plan to destroy the tapes in 2003 and CIA lawyers had said the destruction was legal in 2005. At the time, the CIA had a new director and an acting general counsel.
The story names several officials who advised against destroying the tapes: John Bellinger, the National Security Council’s top legal adviser; Harriet Miers, the White House counsel; George Tenet, the CIA director; Scott Muller, the CIA’s general counsel; and John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence.
After he ordered the tapes destroyed, Rodriguez was not penalized or reprimanded, and many clandestine officers were relieved.
“It is unfortunate,” Bennett told the Post in a written response to questions, “that under the pressure of a congressional and criminal investigation, history is now being revised, and some people are running for cover.”
Updated 12:41 p.m. CT to indicate House intelligence leaders were informed of the plan.
