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White House Role in Tape Destruction Disputed
The New York Times reports today that top White House and Bush Administration lawyers were more deeply involved in discussions about whether to destroy CIA vidoetapes of terrorist deatinee interrogations. The report contains conflicting information from current and former sources within the Administration. According to the Times, two former White Hosue Counsels, Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Miers, as well as Vice-President Cheney's counsel, David Addington, and John Bellinger, the top lawyer at the National Security Council, participated in talks about the fate of the tapes between 2003 and 2005. The tapes were destroyed in November of that year.The White House took the unusual step of issuing a press release challenging the New York Times by name and formally requesting a retraction of the article's sub-heading, "White House Role was Wider than it Said." The White House disputes the inference that it was attempting to hide it's role in the discussions, pointing to numerous on the record refusals to comment in any way on the discussions surrounding thre tapes.
The officials who spoke to the Times did not agree on the advice that the named Administraiton lawyers gave regarding the tapes' destruction. One said that there was "vigorous sentiment" from the White House to destroy the tapes. Another contradicted that characterization, saying that no one at the White House recommended their destruction. The Times points out, however, that the White House was not described as advocating for the tapes' preservation.
In the White House statement, Press Secretary Dana Perino highlights the contradictory information cited in the report and says that the Administration is conducting a fact-finding investigation into the matter.
It will not be surprising that this matter will be reported with a reliance on un-named sources and individuals lacking a full availability of the facts -- and, as the New York Times story itself acknowledges, some of these sources will have wildly conflicting accounts of the facts. We will instead focus our efforts on supporting the preliminary inquiry underway, where facts can be gathered without bias or influence and later disseminated in an appropriate fashion.
We will continue to decline to comment on this issue, and in response to misleading press reports.
The report comes one day before a scheduled Federal District Court hearing, ordered by Judge Henry Kennedy, Jr. The hearing comes in an unrelated case of sixteen Guantanamo Bay detainees, whose lawyers believe that information on the tapes may have been relevant to their clients' case. Judge Kennedy had issued an order in the summer of 2005 directing the government to preserve all evidence pertaining to the case. The Justice Department has said that since the tapes were not made at the Guantanamo Bay prison, they were not covered by the court order. Lawyers for the detainees disagree, saying that the destruction of the tapes casts doubt on the government's handling of all evidence in their case.
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Mark Impomeni
Mark Impomeni is not a journalist, or a pundit, but a citizen with a keen interest in national issues. Skeptical and argumentative...more
Comments (9)
grace
12:39PM Dec 19th 2007
my vote is between Edwards and McCain the rest can't be trusted
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Pete
1:31PM Dec 19th 2007
It is not surprising the Times is reporting just enough information to mislead millions who don't have the inclination, time or intrest to believe otherwise.
The Times has not made an issue over the fact many top Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman, Bob Graham and Jay Rockerfeller, among others, were briefed by the CIA in September 2002 on the interrogation program and the techniques being used.
Evidently, just one year after 9/11, there was enough uncertainty on what al-Qaida may do next Democrats did't seem to have a problem with it.
The Times has not made an issue over the fact waterboarding was among the techniques described to these top Democrats at this briefing way back in 2002.
The Times has not made an issue over the fact U.S. law requires such briefings and another was held the following month followed by 28 more briefings over the next five years.
The Times has not said much about how well informed
Democrats were on waterboarding all along. Ted Kennedy felt secure in the publics ignorance to proclaim, in grandiose style, "We haven't seen anything like this since the 18-minute gap on the tapes of Richard Nixon."
In compliance with U.S. law so many have been informed some have used this information for political gain. These sources within the government put politics before patriotism and leaked national security secrets to the media for political gain. Interogation techniques like waterboarding and the NSA's terrorist surveillance program should never have been made public.
It's worth noting that the tapes were destroyed right around the time the New York Times and Washington Post were spilling the beans about secret CIA prisons, the existence of the NSA surveillance program, etc. (IBD Waterboardgate? 12/11/07)
Clearly there was a mole leaking this information to the media for political gain. With many Democrats briefed nearly 30 times on this program and no doubt transcripts of these interrogations exist so why not destroy these tapes? The video images could only be useful for political gain, anti-American propaganda or terrorist training on our interogation techniqes.
The blame America first N.Y. Times may well have relished releasing these images to create another Abhu Ghraib scandal and portray America, rather than the terrorists, as the real enemy.
Denied that opportunity the Times, like Ted Kennedy, is playing on the publics ignorance to create a scandal for political gain.
The Times has not made an issue over the fact many top Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman, Bob Graham and Jay Rockerfeller, among others, were briefed by the CIA in September 2002 on the interrogation program and the techniques being used.
Evidently, just one year after 9/11, there was enough uncertainty on what al-Qaida may do next Democrats did't seem to have a problem with it.
The Times has not made an issue over the fact waterboarding was among the techniques described to these top Democrats at this briefing way back in 2002.
The Times has not made an issue over the fact U.S. law requires such briefings and another was held the following month followed by 28 more briefings over the next five years.
The Times has not said much about how well informed
Democrats were on waterboarding all along. Ted Kennedy felt secure in the publics ignorance to proclaim, in grandiose style, "We haven't seen anything like this since the 18-minute gap on the tapes of Richard Nixon."
In compliance with U.S. law so many have been informed some have used this information for political gain. These sources within the government put politics before patriotism and leaked national security secrets to the media for political gain. Interogation techniques like waterboarding and the NSA's terrorist surveillance program should never have been made public.
It's worth noting that the tapes were destroyed right around the time the New York Times and Washington Post were spilling the beans about secret CIA prisons, the existence of the NSA surveillance program, etc. (IBD Waterboardgate? 12/11/07)
Clearly there was a mole leaking this information to the media for political gain. With many Democrats briefed nearly 30 times on this program and no doubt transcripts of these interrogations exist so why not destroy these tapes? The video images could only be useful for political gain, anti-American propaganda or terrorist training on our interogation techniqes.
The blame America first N.Y. Times may well have relished releasing these images to create another Abhu Ghraib scandal and portray America, rather than the terrorists, as the real enemy.
Denied that opportunity the Times, like Ted Kennedy, is playing on the publics ignorance to create a scandal for political gain.
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(0) daddy32791
1:59PM Dec 19th 2007
BULLSHIT PETE!!!!!
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(0) Frank Gehlbach
2:01PM Dec 19th 2007
The Abhu Ghraib Scandal was created by the BUSH !!!!
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(0) Pete
2:46PM Dec 19th 2007
Thats what I like about BDS suffering Bush hating liberals, the spirted, intelligent, and factual conversation.
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(0) Cecil Jones
6:07PM Dec 19th 2007
The purpose of waterboarding is to obtain information that could not be obtained in casual conversation. What did the Bush administration do with this information? They destroyed it to protect the individuals who obtained it? On face value, this stinks. What's the problem? If America is the highest authority responsible for investigating itself, then America is above the law. We have no law and that makes us a "Terrorist State." Congress knows it must demand accountability or we will never recover. We cannot allow another election to be tainted with the lies and insecurity shared by this administration and the memory of 9-11. We must be "Fearless!"
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(0) Pete
7:16PM Dec 22nd 2007
Democrats have tried to make an issue out of waterboarding and have been unable to get any traction or outrage from the public.
A picture is worth a thousand words. The public would find images of waterboarding just as distasteful as images of people falling 70 80 or 90 stories to the pavement on 9/11.
These video images of waterboarding could be be used by our left leaning media to nullify our success in Iraq.
Democrats could saturate the news and and use the publics distaste of this interrogation method to create a "scandel" they have done nothing to stop and have known about all along.
Since the N.Y. Times has printed a retraction on this story we must indeed be "Fearless" and not ill-informed.
A picture is worth a thousand words. The public would find images of waterboarding just as distasteful as images of people falling 70 80 or 90 stories to the pavement on 9/11.
These video images of waterboarding could be be used by our left leaning media to nullify our success in Iraq.
Democrats could saturate the news and and use the publics distaste of this interrogation method to create a "scandel" they have done nothing to stop and have known about all along.
Since the N.Y. Times has printed a retraction on this story we must indeed be "Fearless" and not ill-informed.
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(0) Ethan Holub
2:04PM Dec 23rd 2007
"Does the Media have anything productive to do these days? When will they stop trying to please the people and start bringing truth again?" -Ethan Holub
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(0) Bob V
6:50PM Dec 24th 2007
GOD BLESS GEORGE W BUSH
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