Top CIA lawyer testifies on destroyed tapes

Tom Rizzo, the CIA’s acting general counsel, answered lawmakers’ questions Wednesday about the destruction of videotapes that showed agency operatives interrogating suspected members of al Qaeda.

{mosads}“One question of particular interest to the committee is why Congress was not appropriately informed when the tapes were destroyed,” said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “And I believe I speak for every member of our committee when I say that the failure to notify Congress is simply unacceptable.”

As the chief legal officer of the CIA, Rizzo was involved in the decisions concerning the destruction of the videotapes. While he testified voluntarily, Jose Rodriguez, Jr., the then-director of clandestine operations for the CIA, has been subpoenaed and refuses to appear before the committee.

Rodriguez gave the order to destroy the two tapes in 2005 and has been advised by his attorney Robert Bennett to seek immunity in exchange for his testimony. Bennett was President Clinton’s personal attorney in the Paula Jones case, and recently, represented Judith Miller in the CIA leak investigation.

“There have been no discussions involving immunity for Mr. Rodriguez,” Reyes said. “I’m not sure that this will ever be necessary, but…today it’s premature to even discuss immunity.”

The chairman said questions regarding the possible existence and destruction of other unknown tapes arose at Wednesday’s hearing, but declined to detail the committee’s findings.

The two videotapes under scrutiny depicted the waterboarding of two suspected terrorists, a technique that simulates drowning and is called torture by many.

On Dec. 6, 2007 Michael Hayden, director of the CIA, disclosed that the tapes had been destroyed, prompting the opening of a preliminary inquiry two days later. Two days after that, the House Intelligence Committee commenced its own investigation.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said earlier this month that the case warranted a criminal investigation and has requested that the committee halt its probe while the Department of Justice conducts its own.

“I have advised the Department of Justice that the committee will not defer our investigation,” Reyes said. “It is imperative that Congress conduct a full, fair an independent investigation of this matter. I do not believe that we should leave the executive branch to police itself because we know from experience that some have tried that in the past and it has not worked that well.”

Mukasey assigned the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to the case because the CIA falls under his jurisdiction. But the federal attorney recused himself, saying there could be a conflict of interest. In his place Mukasey has named John Durham, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

Dissatisfied with this recourse, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers, Jr. sent a letter signed by 18 other panel Democrats to Mukasey Tuesday requesting that he appoint a special counsel to oversee the investigation. The letter stated that a special prosecutor is needed “to ensure that the investigation covers all alleged misconduct related to the interrogations.”

The Senate Intelligence Committee is also coordinating its own investigation. The Senate will reconvene on Jan. 22.

Bennett did not return calls for comment.