Congressman Calls For Special Counsel Over CIA Tapes

Someone call Patrick Fitzgerald. Today Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) sent a letter to Attorney General Mukasey requesting the immediate appointment of a special counsel to investigate the creation and handling of two CIA interrogation tapes. Holt is a member of the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel.

The letter makes Holt the first member of Congress to formally request a special counsel in this matter, though Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) has publicly called for one.

Holt says that neither the CIA nor the Justice Department can be trusted to take on the probe, and his letter lays out what he believes should be the focus of the special counsel's work:

1) the circumstances surrounding the CIA's creation, handling, destruction, and representations regarding its video or audio recording of detainee interrogations to the federal courts, the 9/11 Commission, and the Congress;

2) the legality of the activities contained on the recordings, considering the identity of the detainees involved, the reasons for their detentions, the nature of the information sought, and the methods used in the interrogations;

3) who within the executive branch had knowledge of the CIA's destruction of these records, including who authorized their destruction and who was informed of their destruction; and

4) whether any federal laws were broken as a result of the CIA's creation, handling, destruction and representations regarding said video or audio recordings of detainee interrogations to the federal courts, the 9/11 Commission, and the Congress.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Attorney General Mukasey,

I am writing today to request that you immediately appoint an independent counsel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the destruction by the CIA of video or audio recordings of detainee interrogations and the CIA's representations to the court regarding such recordings.

As I am sure you are aware, the October 25, 2007 declaration filed by U.S. Attorney Charles Rosenberg with Judges Williams and Brinkema already provides a prima facie rationale for the appointment of an independent counsel. The CIA clearly misrepresented the facts surrounding the existence--and subsequent destruction--of the recordings in question in their representations to both the federal courts in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit via the U.S. Attorney's office responsible for handling the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui. The CIA made these representations at the very time the Moussaoui case was before Judge Brinkema, and at the time the 9/11 Commission was investigating the circumstances surrounding the attacks on our country by Al Qaeda. To that end, let me quote to you from General Hayden's letter to CIA employees, dated December 6, 2007:

"The press has learned that back in 2002, during the initial stage of our terrorist detention program, CIA videotaped interrogations, and destroyed the tapes in 2005. I understand that the Agency did so only after it was determined they were no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries--including the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. The decision to destroy the tapes was made within CIA itself."

General Hayden's statement the tapes were "not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries" is clearly not accurate, as U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg's October 25, 2007 declaration makes clear. The U.S. Attorney recognized that inaccurate--and possibly false--declarations had been made by CIA via his office to two federal courts. Moreover, today's edition of the New York Times reports that one or more detainees from Yemen may have been videotaped by the CIA after 2002, further calling into question public declarations by CIA officials about the scope and timeline associated with the CIA's detainee recording activities.

Later in the same letter, General Hayden made the following statement:

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"As part of the rigorous review that has defined the detention program, the Office of General Counsel examined the tapes and determined that they showed lawful methods of questioning. The Office of Inspector General also examined the tapes in 2003 as part of its look at the Agency's detention and interrogation practices."

The fact that neither the CIA General Counsel nor the CIA IG saw fit to order the records preserved raises fundamental questions about how those offices handled this affair, and no CIA entity should have a role in investigating the CIA's conduct in this matter. This is why I found the December 8, 2007 announcement by the Department of Justice (DoJ) that DoJ's National Security Division and the CIA's Inspector General's office were launching a joint inquiry "to determine whether there is sufficient predication to warrant a full investigation" so alarming. It is inappropriate for the CIA to be investigating itself in this matter. This point is particularly pertinent in light of published reports that former White House counsel Harriett Miers urged the CIA to preserve the tapes. If these reports are true, they raise serious questions about what she and other White House and CIA officials knew about the tapes and their disposition during the period in question.

Finally, as the DoJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has been directly involved in the crafting of multiple, and often controversial, legal opinions supporting the Administration's aggressive detainee interrogation policies, it would be unsatisfactory for DoJ to conduct an investigation that may involve DoJ personnel who had a role in shaping legal policies pertaining to the treatment of detainees.

Accordingly, I urge you to immediately appoint an independent counsel to investigate:

1) the circumstances surrounding the CIA's creation, handling, destruction, and representations regarding its video or audio recording of detainee interrogations to the federal courts, the 9/11 Commission, and the Congress;

2) the legality of the activities contained on the recordings, considering the identity of the detainees involved, the reasons for their detentions, the nature of the information sought, and the methods used in the interrogations;

3) who within the executive branch had knowledge of the CIA's destruction of these records, including who authorized their destruction and who was informed of their destruction; and

4) whether any federal laws were broken as a result of the CIA's creation, handling, destruction and representations regarding said video or audio recordings of detainee interrogations to the federal courts, the 9/11 Commission, and the Congress.

I am sure you share my concern that this matter be investigated in a fair, nonpartisan, and timely fashion, and I hope you will act favorably on this request immediately.

Sincerely,

RUSH HOLT
Chairman
Select Intelligence Oversight Panel
House Committee on Appropriations

Comments

[Tellmethetruth]

Des Moines, IA (December 11, 2007) – The Biden for President Campaign announced the launch of its new television ad, “Action,” which will begin airing across Iowa tomorrow. In the 30-second spot, Sen. Biden asks Iowans to cast their support for a candidate with proven leadership, experience, and most importantly, action on the biggest challenges facing our country.

The ad points out that while promises are easily made, Joe Biden is the candidate with the longest record of promises kept. The Biden Plan for Iraq has received the bipartisan support of over 75 U.S. Senators, not to mention scores of Iraqi leaders, foreign affairs experts, and other public officials. And when Pakistan erupted in a state of crisis several weeks ago, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called Joe Biden first—not President Bush. Sen. Biden concludes: “You don’t have to guess what I’d do as president. Just look at what I’ve done.”

“If Iowans believe campaign funds and celebrity will fix the debacle in Iraq, put the economy on track, and provide health care and education for America’s children, they should support another candidate,” said Biden for President Campaign Manager Luis Navarro. “But I’m confident that Iowans know what I know: our problems will require experience and leadership from Day One. Empty slogans will be no match for proven action on caucus night.”

You can see the new television ad at http://www.joebiden.com/action.

Joe Biden is the Senator who last Sunday called for an Independent Counsel to investiage and bring criminal charges to wrong-doers. Let's get the facts straight.

[RossalGondamer]

Which is really the more important issue at this time?

A national taint from our own CIA’s activities sending official Washington into ‘Action’
- or- that just a few days prior the NIE blew the NEOCONS sideways?

Not to diminish the legal jeopardy and ‘gotcha’ of evidentiary destruction, but the fallacy that was our next war is now being water boarded by these headlines!

[SpencerCat]

Sigh...the lies and the corruption and the incompetence just go on and on. Is it time to call American Democracy dead yet? Or can this system of government be saved?

I've decided to register as an Independent. Democrat no more! A plague on both your houses.

[Galvestonians for Dr. Ron Paul]

These investigations mean nothing if the president is not impeached.­.
He has set precedences with his signing statements and blocking congressional requests.
If he is not held to account, the next president will inherit the most power ever granted to one person, in the entire history of man kind.

[ljsfolly]

Bush has been in the bubble since he got into office with only being told what someone thought he should know.It's like the old actress having someone around to tell her she is beautiful bush has had the guys telling him how smart he is and what a good job he is doing. As long as cheney understands what is going on is the only important thing for bush. The bubble will never burst on bush. Alcohol did it's job well on his brain.

[iluvsam]

It's official. GWB is the worst President in the history of America. He's completely and utterly inept, corrupt, stupid, irrational, a religious nutcase, etc., etc.

Can we please finally impeach this jackass? I'm so sick of this bullshit.

[ebbtide]

They write letters.

There is no doubt in my mind that Pelosi is complicit as well as Rockefeller. Their is not doubt in my mind that the leadership of this so called "opposition", now the majority party after the hard work of volunteers, who sacrificed and worked to get that majority, wants everything that Bush wants. Why?

Pelosi needs to be booted out on her ass for declaring that impeachment is off the table right off the bat--hey you proles, I am the queen that will be complicit to George Bush, and I think I made a good PR approach with all those photos of me and with my comment that "this is a new congress' shit

--and oh, let my darling daughter, go travelling around on AF 1 with the Bush kid, making a video that will bring her lots of bucks. That is what being an insider means, I guess and it looks like the only person who had her finger on Pelosi is Cindy Sheehan. Maybe they have something on the daughter and Pelosi has been bribed.
Who knows.

All I know is that Pelosi surrendered we proles to Bush, ignored her oath to the Conswtituion, continues to do so and seems to be out of control.

People, we have not got two parties anymore. We have one party, in which the beltway club decides for us, based on their contributions from the corporate lobbyists, and their efforts to cover up their complicity in the horrific Bush policies. They really like Bush and all he has done, while continuing to appeal to the little guy as an "opposition" party.

THEY ARE NOT.

[imusintheevening]

Fred Fielding is smiling and reaching for a cigar about now. Comply with a subpoena, hah, what a joke. An independent investigator, whoooooooh, that is really scary, hah, grab a scotch and write some crap for another 13 months, what a life.

[dissolvethecorporation]

I'd be more concerned with whether the tapes were destroyed to protect the identities of Bushco's Saudi supporters of Al Qaida, then the red herring of the torture issue, which the neogoons have already conceded.

[Dap]

Good on The Honorable Congressman Holt.

Now Senator Biden... are you going to put your money where your mouth is?

Or are We, the People gonna here more lame excuses as to why you say one thing and do another?

[Advocate123]

Good, so now they can call as their first witnesses to testify, all the Democrats who knew about the Tapes, knew that they would be destroyed and waterboarding in 2002.

Advocate123
http://copiousdissent.blogspot.com