House Intel panel launches probe into CIA tape destruction

The leaders of the House Intelligence Committee announced Monday that they would launch a bipartisan investigation into the destruction of CIA videotapes showing the interrogation of suspected terrorists.

{mosads}“Our investigation will be complete, thorough and bipartisan. We will follow the facts wherever they lead,” said committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) and ranking Republican Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) in a joint statement. “And we will use every tool at our disposal to conduct a fair and complete review on behalf of the House of Representatives and the American people.”

The statement also said that CIA Director Michael Hayden appears not to have been truthful in saying that the committee had been notified at the time the tapes were destroyed.

“Based on our review of the record, this does not appear to be true,” the lawmakers said. “Our investigation will review issues surrounding the destruction of videos, the CIA’s failure to notify Congress of this important matter, and related questions concerning the CIA’s interrogation program.”

Hayden will appear before the panel on Wednesday in a closed, on-the-record briefing.