Reid threatens to support special counsel probe of CIA tapes

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated Tuesday that he would support a special counsel investigation of the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes if the Bush administration is impeding a congressional probe and an investigation initiated by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

{mosads}“The CIA, the Justice Department, the Bush White House and every American should know that if these investigations encounter resistance or are unable to find the truth, I will not hesitate to add my voice to those calling for a special counsel,” Reid said.

Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.), who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, has called for the appointment of a special counsel. He is at odds with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who is conducting the Senate probe and said he does not believe a special counsel is needed.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is also investigating the issue.

Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking Republican Arlen Specter (Pa.) wrote a letter to new Attorney General Michael Mukasey Monday asking a series of questions regarding any potential role of the Justice Department in the deletion of CIA tapes recording the interrogation of suspected terrorists.

Reid said that the destruction of the footage undermines U.S. integrity and charged that the country’s moral authority has been damaged under the Bush administration. The Nevada senator pointed to the war in Iraq, the leaking of the name of a CIA operative to the media, the questions that have surrounded DoJ in previous years and the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal as instances in which U.S. credibility has suffered.

“This damage to our moral authority will matter to the history books, but more importantly, it matters right now,” Reid said. “It puts our troops at greater risk if captured. It impairs our relationships with nations who ought to be our allies. It impedes our ability to fight an effective war on terror.”