CIA Destroyed At Least 92 Tapes of "Extremely Harsh" Interrogations

by Damozel | So say government lawyers in a letter filed in response to a document by the ACLU (AP).  And...the ACLU has details.

The admission comes in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit seeking records of the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody abroad. In December 2007, the ACLU filed a motion to hold the CIA in contempt for its destruction of videotapes recording the harsh interrogation of prisoners in violation of a court order requiring the agency to produce or identify all the requested records. That motion is still pending.....

The tapes, which show CIA operatives subjecting suspects to extremely harsh interrogation methods, should have been identified and processed for the ACLU in response to its FOIA request demanding information on the treatment and interrogation of detainees in U.S. custody. The tapes were also withheld from the 9/11 Commission, appointed by former President Bush and Congress, which had formally requested that the CIA hand over transcripts and recordings documenting the interrogation of CIA prisoners.  (ACLU)

Wow, that's a lot more than the two which The New York Times reported back in 2007 had been destroyed.

You can see the government's letter here and the ACLU's motion to hold the CIA in contempt here.

"Move over, Nixon," Andrew Sullivan says.

The Bush-Cheney crew destroyed many more tapes that would have incriminated them - for much, much graver crimes.

He's not wrong.  And he's not wrong about this either:

The case for an Accountability Commission into the war crimes of the Bush administration becomes more and more pressing. And those who illegally destroyed critical evidence of war crimes must be subject to the full force of the law.

Nor is Steve Benen:

Destroying two interrogation videos is obstruction of justice. Destroying 92 interrogation videos is a systemic cover-up of widespread lawbreaking.

Meanwhile, Holder has said that the Obama administration intends to ban waterboarding.

"Waterboarding is torture. My Justice Department will not justify it, will not rationalize it and will not condone it," Holder, who his heading a review of the treatment of terrorism suspects, said in a speech to the Jewish Council of Public Affairs in Washington. His vow was greeted by applause....

Obama in January ordered that government agencies must abide by interrogation limitations in the Army Field Manual, which bans waterboarding.

But he also asked for a review of detention and interrogations practices, which some human rights critics said opened the door to approval of some harsh techniques.

"While many practices will be subject to receive under these executive orders, one in particular (waterboarding) will absolutely not be," Holder said. (More here...)

Memeorandum has more commentary....

RELATED BUCK NAKED POLITICS POSTINGS  (Dec. 2007)

Torture:  A Moral Issue

Torture Tapes: Rodriguez May Sing (and Implicate the White House) 

Torture Tape Story: is it OK to Leak Certain Classified Info? 

Nameless Official: Some White House Staffers Wanted Torture Tapes Destroyed 

Judge Stands up to Administration re: Torture Tapes 

Bush Admin: Increased Spending on Paper Shredding 

More on the John Kiriakou Interview and "Enhanced Interrogation" 

"Necessary Torture": The Interview of John Kiriakou (Updated)  12-11-07

Investigations Launched re: CIA's Destruction of Torture Tapes

Bush:  No Recollection of Being Made Aware of Any Tapes (Updated) 

CIA Advised Not to Destroy the Tapes (Updated).

CIA Destroyed Evidence of Torture Sessions

RECENT RELATED POSTINGS

The Torture Administration Continued: Former Gitmo Guard Speaks Out

What is "Extraordinary Rendition," and Why is it so Horrible?  

Bush Admits to Approving Torture, Questionably Claims that Good Intel was Gained

The Torture Administration

Former Interrogator Still Tormented by Recollections of Practices Used in Iraq

Bush Approved Torture in Memos

Iraq Detainees Held in Small Crates (8-13-08)

'A Landmark Day for Torture-Disclosure' (Updated) (7-24-08)
 
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft: Waterboarding Isn't Torture (7-18-08)

Comments

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