Justice to Probe CIA Tapes

Department launches criminal investigation
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2008 3:02 PM CST
Justice to Probe CIA Tapes
John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, speaks to reporters on the steps of U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn. in this April 25, 2006 file photo. Durham has been chosen by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to oversee the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes case. (AP Photo/Bob...   (Associated Press)

The Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into the CIA's destruction of videotapes documenting the interrogation of  two Al-Qaeda suspects. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed John Durham, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut, to head the inquiry. Durham has a reputation as a tough prosecutor; he has overseen investigations into FBI and other law enforcement corruption, as well as organized crime.

Congressional investigators have already started reviewing CIA documents and former CIA official Jose Rodriguez, who ordered the tapes to be destroyed, will appear at a hearing on January 16th. "The CIA will of course cooperate fully with this investigation, as it has with the others into this matter," said an agency spokesman. (More torture stories.)

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