Justice Dept. Launches Criminal Probe of CIA Tapes

Published on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 by Reuters
by Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it had launched a criminal investigation into the CIA’s destruction of videotapes depicting the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects
“There is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to begin that investigation,” Attorney General Michael Mukasey said in a statement issued by the department. More…

9/11 Commission Leaders Blast CIA on Interrogation Tapes

WASHINGTON – The leaders of a US commission that examined the September 11, 2001 terror attacks accused the CIA Wednesday of having obstructed their investigation by withholding information about videotaped interrogations of terror suspects.

The goal of the blue ribbon 9/11 Commission, wrote chairman Thomas Kean and vice-chairman Lee Hamilton in The New York Times, was “to provide the American people with the fullest possible account” of what led to Al-Qaeda’s attacks more than six years ago on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. More…