CIA Refuses to Turn Over Torture Tape Documents to ACLU

[JonLP24]

Source: The Public Record

By Jason Leopold

The CIA claims the integrity of a special prosecutor’s criminal investigation into the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes will be compromised if the agency if forced to turn over to the American Civil Liberties Union detailed documents identifying the individuals responsible for destroying the tapes, the reasons for the purg, and the contents of the videotaped interrogations, according to newly released court documents.

In a May 5 letter to U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Lev Dassin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Justice Department recently had discussions with prosecutors working on the criminal investigation into the destruction of the interrogation tapes and was informed that “the production of documents...would conflict and substantially interfere with the investigation” into the destruction of the interrogation tapes.

“As the court is aware, the scope of the tapes investigation includes the review of whether any person obstructed justice, knowingly made materially false statements, or acted in contempt of court or Congress in connection with the destruction of videotapes,” Dassin’s letter says. “The Government thus respectfully requests that be withdrawn or otherwise stayed until the tapes investigation has been completed.”

Amrit Singh, an ACLU staff attorney, said the move is “a classic CIA delay tactic.”

In court papers, she said the government is using the criminal investigation “as a pretext for indefinitely postponing” its obligation to produce documents related to the destruction of the videotapes.


Read more: http://www.pubrecord.org/torture/891-cia-refuses-to-turn-over-torture-tape-documents-to-aclu.html

[Metta]

1. The gov't is being irresponsible? I'm shocked. Shocked.

The CIA much less? As H.L. Menken said, "... behaving like a gang of desperate criminals."

[24601]

4. Wait a minute - the CIA's top decision maker is Leon Panetta

and he works for the DNI Blair who works for the President. This is Obama's CIA as of 20 Jan and they will do what he says, period. Underlings make recommendations, not decisions.

[No Elephants]

12. Exact.ly. And from this article, we can infer the marching orders Panetta got.

[EFerrari]

14. I don't think we can. We only know they didn't want this public

right now.

[No Elephants]

16. All I meant was that we could infer that Panetta's marching orders were not to turn over the tapes t

the ACLU.

[flyarm]

2. More and more and more of the Kabuke dance , no matter who is in charge!

am i the only one damn suck and tired of this shit no matter who is in charge?????????

It only confirms to me , no matter what we do ..no matter how much we scream..we will never get any fucking truth in this country anymore, nor justice, nor rule of law..it is all a freaking damn joke!

I am beyond disgusted...

so when does KKKKKarl Rove testify???????

Or how about H. Miers?????

or do they get suicided first???????????

[troubleinwinter]

5. No, you're NOT the only one sick and tired and beyond disgusted.

[abq e streeter]

6. no matter who is "in charge"...because that's the part that DOESN'T really ever change

pathetic, isn't it... it's all well and good that Obama and not McCain is president, etc. , but bottom line is that the people that have been running things for a long time have no intention of that situation changing one bit...And I hold out virtually no hope of enough people ever figuring out the extent of all this for anything to ever be done about it, and that fact breaks my heart every day ( and for the record, no matter what, I am totally committed to peaceful means of change only).

[Supersedeas]

15. look again at the new CIA chief....was real change really a priority there?

[Vidar]

3. Integrity & CIA don't belong in the same sentence.

[Senator]

7. K&R

[Wednesdays]

8. K&R

:kick:

[LeFleur1]

9. If The CIA Won't Turn Over the Records

they must be tortured until they will.

[IndianaGreen]

10. So what's the difference between Panetta and the torture loving Tenet, Goss,and Hayden?

Torture is crime under US law, and no President or Administration can participate in a cover up of crimes committed by its officials.

[chill_wind]

11. Panetta sailed right through his confirmation.

He was picked for a reason.

[EFerrari]

13. Maybe. But imho, this administration will release that information

when they have ducks in a row to manage the consequences and not a minute before. They are very deliberate or, they have been so far.