by D. Cupples | In 2005, the CIA destroyed video tapes of detainees being "interrogated," despite a court's request to see evidence relating to detainee interrogations. Yesterday, Attorney General Michael Mukasey opened a criminal investigation, to be led by federal prosecutor John Durham (Associated Press via Memeorandum).
Though he may have integrity, Mr. Durham is not an independent prosecutor (unlike Patrick Fitzgerald during the Scooter Libby case) and Durham is not outside the Justice Department. As Balkanization's Marty Lederman points out, Durham is a career Justice Department prosecutor and, in the tape case, he will report to a Deputy Attorney General, who will report to Attorney General Mukasey.
House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers bluntly commented:
"While I certainly agree that these matters warrant an immediate criminal investigation, it is disappointing that the Attorney General has stepped outside the Justice Department’s own regulations and declined to appoint a more independent special counsel in this matter....
"Equally disappointing is the limited scope of this investigation, which appears limited to the destruction of two tapes. The government needs to scrutinize what other evidence may have been destroyed beyond the two tapes, as well as the underlying allegations of misconduct associated with the interrogations.
"The Justice Department’s record over the past seven years of sweeping the administration’s misconduct under the rug has left the American public with little confidence in the administration’s ability to investigate itself. Nothing less than a special counsel with a full investigative mandate will meet the tests of independence, transparency and completeness. Appointment of a special counsel will allow our nation to begin to restore our credibility and moral standing on these issues." (Press Release)
Though he works in Connecticut, Durham will become Acting U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia to pursue the CIA tape case. Why transplant an out-of-state prosecutor? Because prosecutors in Virginia's Eastern District removed themselves from the case. I'm not sure why.
Related BN-Politics Posts:
* Official: White House Staffers Wanted Torture Tapes Destroyed
* CIA's Odd Responses About Destroyed Torture Tapes
* Mukasey's Bizarre Reason for Refusing to Share Info w/Congress
* Outsourcing America's Intelligence
* Intelligence Chief Misleads Public Again
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