US to Launch Criminal Probe of CIA Interrogation Tapes Destruction

[spotbird]

Source: http://www.cnn.com /

But there is need for a special prosecutor.

No link yet.

Update:

U.S. to launch criminal probe of CIA tapes

1 of 1Full SizeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it will launch a criminal investigation into the CIA's destruction of videotapes depicting the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKWAT00861320...

Second update from first post below:

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed an outside prosecutor to oversee the case.

.....

Mukasey named John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to oversee the case.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080102/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/c...



Read more: CNN

---

What is the difference between an outside prosecutor and a special prosecutor? Is one more independent?

[KoKo]

1. Bush's Justice Dept...I assume?

[spotbird]

19. Exactly,

they've used some language to conceal that this is very much a DOJ investigation.

[Bicoastal]

2. "There is need for a special prosecutor..." Are they hiring?

'Cause I'll do it. For free, even.

[KansDem]

17. Include me!

Hell, I'll empty your wastebaskets, mop your floors, clean your toilets...all gratis. Anything to get this going!

[deminks]

3. U.S. to launch criminal probe of CIA tapes

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department will launch a criminal investigation of the CIA's destruction of videotapes depicting the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

The official said the Justice Department would make a statement shortly regarding the probe.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080102/us_nm/security_cia_...

[deminks]

4. AP reporting a little more info

(snip)

Mukasey named John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to oversee the case.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080102/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/c...

[aquart]

5. John H. Durham?

Not bad. <http://www.google.com/search?q=%22John+H.+Durham%22+pro... >

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Smirk. MIHOP. Neener, neener. Smirk" - Commander AWOL

[bdamomma]

13. that picture makes my blood boil.

what a stupid a$$ man.

[SharonRB]

7. Mukasey: Criminal probe begins into CIA tapes

Source: MSNBC

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department said Wednesday it will launch a criminal investigation into the CIA's destruction of videotapes depicting the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects.

The CIA last month disclosed that in 2005 it destroyed hundreds of hours of tapes from the interrogations of two al-Qaida suspects, prompting an outcry from Democrats, human rights activists and some legal experts.

The interrogations, which took place in 2002, were believed to have included a form of simulated drowning known as waterboarding, condemned internationally as torture.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22474868 /

---

[bullimiami]

8. they wrote the report already 'nothing to see here, all legal'

now they will start the investigation.

[stellanoir]

12. Oh goodie !!!

They get to investigate themselves again.

I just can't wait for the litany of "I can't recall" s.

Since selective amnesia seems to have become a prerequisite for employment at the DOJ.

Should be truly riveting and revelatory. . .not.

Since Munkasey isn't sure whether waterboarding qualifies as torture, watch the disappearance of the tapes morph into a totally mute point.

Ughhh.

[Javaman]

9. So will this end up like all the other "investigations"?

a whole lot of smoke and mirrors?

[spotbird]

10. Undoubtedly.

It's cynical for them to even offer the pretense that there will be an investigation at this juncture.

[sattahipdeep]

18. You're a business partner.

As he's no longer with the CIA, Richer said he's found that people are more willing
to share information. He said a military general in a country he would not name told
him of the country's plan to build its next strike fighter. "I listened," Richer said.

"We talked business and where we could help him understand markets and things like that."
At the end of the conversation, Richer said, he asked the man, "Isn't that classified?
Why are you telling me this?"

Richer said the man answered, "If I tell it to an embassy official I've created espionage.
You're a business partner."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a04...

[peacetalksforall]

33. Remember ... Justice investigated put-options - couple of months later

in tiny, tiny print - Nothing There. We're Moving On. paraphrased.

[sattahipdeep]

53. Black and Richer spend much of their time traveling.

Follow the money.

[H2O Man]

11. John Durham is good.

He was brought in by Reno per the FBI-mob in the Boston scandal detailed in "Black Mass." I am really surprised that Mr. Durham is being brought in. He is serious.

[Stuart G]

24. If he is "serious" ...he could end up like Fitzgerald.

Patrick Fitzgerald would have gotten Cheney if he could have. If Durham is honest, and he cannot be swayed or bought out, then this could be a very good thing for all of us..

[spotbird]

26. It has not been reported

that Durham will have even close to the independence of Fitzgerald, much less Ken Starr. Keep in mind that although his heart was in the right place Fitz didn't crack the case.

This is not good news, it's just a whitewash.

[Stuart G]

30. Fitz was close..but..

Libby lied, he did get Libby, and the evidence was corrupted by Libby..well we will see..probably a cover up..But anything is possible.

[spotbird]

32. Libby was a cog,

Fitzgerald said as much. It was good to get Libby, but the investigation, even with its unusual independence, was doomed.

[H2O Man]

36. No he didn't.

Mr. Fitzgerald never said that Libby was a "cog." Libby was one of the highest ranking, most powerful government officials ever indicted and convicted in a federal court.

[spotbird]

39. LOL

Bush and Cheney were the real actors, Fitzgerald didn't get anywhere close to them. He wasn't even allowed to interview them alone. Libby basically didn't defend himself at trial because he knew he'd get a pardon.

Fitzgerald's hands were tied.

[H2O Man]

44. Actually, there

is little evidence to suggest that Bush played as significant a role as Libby. Even before he was charged with 5 felonies, co-workers in the White House referred to the actions against Wilson and Plame as "Scooter's black op."

Mr. Fitzgerald's hands were not tied.

[spotbird]

45. Where to start.

If you believe the buck stops at Libby's desk, I'm not about to go back and show you the mountains of information which dispute that view. Your belief is faith based, facts will not change it.

Either way, even if one accepts that Fitzerald was unencumbered and therefore got to the bottom of the leak, this prosecutor will enjoy nowhere near the authority Fitzgerald did.

[peacetalksforall]

35. It was never clear to me which leaker broke the law - I wouldn't

blame Fitz for not finding a leaker. He did what he could do within the law. Since the secret was intended to be within the CIA - the first leaker would be a CIA person, but if the law was broken when the first person talked to the press, then the WH got off free with Armitage saying it was him?

Fitzgerald conducted an investigation - an investigation was his assigned mission and he pursued the case as far and within the limits that could be proven.

I don't think Fitz deserves any pauses in recognition and I don't believe the case is closed. I think he documented plenty for our future. We don't know all the reasons that Rove 'lawyered up'. It ain't archived yet.

We still have the case of the temporarily 'tefloned', no-trail Cheney - but the citizens are not finished with him.

One of these days ... someone is going to talk.

It may even be Mary Matalin! Hah!

[H2O Man]

37. The investigation focused

less on the identity law, which is narrow, than on possible charges of espionage.

[Supersedeas]

52. independence is not a word the Media Establishment wants to touch--they are just as culpable on the

lack of independence.

[Bumblebee]

46. He is also a registered Republican

according to Connecticut voter records.

See the WP article:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[dipsydoodle]

14. BBC has got now too

The tapes, which were made in 2002, reportedly contained images of interrogation techniques including water-boarding, which simulates drowning. The CIA denies torture.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7168869.stm

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. Durham helped convict John Rowland

and Rowland was a rethug...

Could get interesting.

[Stuart G]

25. Here is the scoop on John Rowland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Rowland


Impeachment process and Federal case

In the first year of Rowland's third term, rumors began circulating that contractors doing business with the state paid for and made improvements to his weekend cottage, that he benefited improperly from the sale of a condominium in Washington, D.C. at an inflated price, that he took gifts from subordinates in state government, and that he took partial ownership in businesses immediately before they were granted state contracts. These eventually led to federal investigations and then indictments of some of Rowland's close aides, who then cooperated with federal investigators.

Rumors continued that the investigation was building a case against Rowland himself; Rowland publicly denied the allegations.

However, in December 2003, Rowland abruptly appeared on television and admitted that work had been done by contractors on his cottage at no charge, and that his earlier statements to the contrary were untrue. Matters were exacerbated when his wife, Patty Rowland, wrote a satirical poem<4> deriding the media for investigating her husband's admitted wrongdoing.

He claimed that since the work was done he had paid the contractors in full, but in January 2004, an official investigation began into charges of corruption, and whether he should face impeachment.

On April 30, a special investigation panel started the impeachment process. On June 18, the Connecticut Supreme Court required Rowland to appear before the investigative panel seeking his testimony, which could have resulted in him giving evidence against himself in the ongoing criminal investigation. On June 21, Rowland's lawyers announced that he would resign. The resignation went into effect at noon on July 1.

On December 23, 2004, Rowland pleaded guilty to stealing honest service. Rowland was sentenced on March 18, 2005, in New Haven, Connecticut to one year and one day in prison, four months house arrest, three years probation and community service. On April 1 he entered the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania. His Federal inmate number was 15623-014.

[spotbird]

42. Sounds like the prosecutor had

his work cut out for him, very reassuring. Thanks.

"Rowland abruptly appeared on television and admitted that work had been done by contractors on his cottage at no charge, and that his earlier statements to the contrary were untrue."

[sattahipdeep]

16. All you need to know_It's a CIA thing.

Black and Richer spend much of their time traveling. They won't say where.
It's a CIA thing. Black called at midnight recently to talk about
Total Intel from "somewhere in the Middle East."

"I don't spend a lot of time telling people where I am as part of my
business," he said. "I am discreet in where I go and who I see.
I spend most of my time dealing with senior people in governments, making connections."


Who?

People.

Government people? Business people?

All kinds.

The company won't reveal its financial information, the names of its customers
or other details of its business.
Even looking at an analyst's screen at its Global Fusion Center wasn't allowed.

"No, no," Richer said, putting his hands up. "There may be customers' names on there.
We don't want you to see."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[phrigndumass]

20. It's like asking my dog to investigate the turd on the floor ... n/t

[AntiFascist]

21. K&R n/t

[rockybelt]

22. The Justice department to investigate

so there will never be another word heard about the case except to say, "Since there is an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department, we will not comment on that."

Investigation...Riiiiggghhht!

[spotbird]

23. Mukasey will investigate Bush

It is absurd to believe this will result in anything but official vindication.

[Stuart G]

27. Yes, that is most likely true.

But...anything can happen. occasionally, something surprising, perhaps good happens...

[spotbird]

29. If Mukasey

wanted a real investigation he would have made the investigation independent. The reason he didn't is a safe bet.

[Summer93]

28. Just on ABC evening news

Amazing

[spotbird]

31. What is amazing?

The Bush administration will investigate itself. It's the same old shit.

[Deny and Shred]

34. We can hope for a litany of testimony at least

I share the DU opinion thus far that this investigation will not result in appropriate justice, a scapegoat at most.
What we can hope for is more lustre off BushCo., particularly in the eyes of Joe 6-Pack. This could come in the form of subpoenas, grand jury testimonies, ugly press conferences, contradictions, firings, pardons, commutations, more general foot-in-mouth syndrome.
I don't hold out much hope that a tipping point will be reached from Bush's loyal 30% supporters in the polls, but perhaps a dash of hope. I know a couple hard-core conservatives who supported him through a ton, but for whom the gild is off the lily.

[peacetalksforall]

38. Is this the investigation that the WH wants so they can derail Congress?

[spotbird]

40. Since Mukasey told Congress to

stand down, and congress graciously obliged, it's fair to assume that this is the substitute for oversight.

[SirRevolutionary]

41. Ooohh I know

How about Scotland Yard??

[spotbird]

43. We need true independence,

if that's how far we'd have to go to get it fine. I do think it could be found closer to home.

[bluesmail]

47. probably Rodrigues put a good enough scare

he won't be going down as a patsy. HA!

[Stuart G]

48. More on this prosecutor... about Durham..read last line of news story...

From Yahoo News, and the AP

WASHINGTON - For the high-profile, politically charged investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videos, the Justice Department is turning to a low-profile, politically independent prosecutor.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed John Durham, a veteran federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to oversee a full criminal investigation that could further challenge the Bush administration's handling of terrorism suspects.

The CIA acknowledged last month that in 2005 it destroyed videos of officers using tough interrogation methods on two al-Qaida suspects. The revelation touched off a congressional inquiry and a preliminary investigation by the Justice Department into whether the CIA violated any laws or obstructed congressional inquiries such as the one led by the Sept. 11 Commission.

Durham, who has served with the Justice Department for 25 years, has a reputation as one of the nation's most relentless prosecutors. He was appointed to investigate the FBI's use of mob informants in Boston, a probe that sent former FBI agent John Connolly to prison.

"Nobody in this country is above the law, an FBI agent or otherwise,".... Durham said in 2002 after Connolly's conviction, a rare public statement for a prosecutor who usually avoids reporters............................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

It is possible that this guy..Durham...just might get to the so called bottom..

[radfringe]

49. raise your hand if you think this will go anywhere

as for myself - I think the only one who will be indicted will be the janitor that cleaned out the trash can

meanwhile the Dems will apologize

[4dsc]

50. TORTURE IS A CRIME!!! Please note this

NO ONE on either side of the fence want's to investigate this matter because it involved TORTURE and TORTURE is a CRIME!!!

Note they are not even mentioning TORTURE in the article but rather "harch treatment".. This is BS!!!!!!

This matter goes all the way to the White House and President who AUTHORIZED TORTURE!!!! TORTURE is a CRIME!!!

[Supersedeas]

51. I thought the DoJ was ALREADY investigating whether a crime was committed--another 'investigation'

after the 'investigation'