From The New York Times, 12/15/07:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/washington/15intel.html?hp
Justice Dept. Seeks Delay on C.I.A. Inquiry
By DAVID JOHNSTON and MARK MAZZETTI
WASHINGTON —
The Justice Department asked the House Intelligence Committee on
Friday to postpone its investigation into the destruction of
videotapes by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2005, saying the
Congressional inquiry presented “significant risks” to its own
preliminary investigation into the matter.
The department is taking an even harder line with other Congressional
committees looking into the matter, and is refusing to provide
information about any role it might have played in the destruction of
the videotapes.
The recordings covered hundreds of hours of interrogations of two
operatives of Al Qaeda.
The Justice Department and the C.I.A.’s inspector general have begun a
preliminary inquiry into the destruction of the tapes, and Attorney
General Michael B. Mukasey said the department would not comply with
Congressional requests for information now because of “our interest in
avoiding any perception that our law enforcement decisions are subject
to political influence.”
Over all, the position taken by Mr. Mukasey, who took office last
month, represented what Justice Department officials described as an
effort to caution Congress against meddling in the tapes case and
other politically explosive criminal cases.
The Justice Department request was met with anger from both Republican
and Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee, who said
the department was trying to interfere with their investigation.
The committee had summoned two C.I.A. officials to testify at a
hearing next week, a session that will now almost certainly be
postponed.
The inquiry by the House committee had been shaping up as the most
aggressive investigation into the destruction of the tapes, and in a
written statement on Friday, the two senior members of the panel said
they were “stunned” by the Justice Department’s request.
The lawmakers, Representative Silvestre Reyes, Democrat of Texas, and
Representative Peter Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, threatened to
issue subpoenas to get testimony and other information from the C.I.A.
“There is no basis upon which the attorney general can stand in the
way of our work,” they said.
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Say hello to Mike "Gonzo" Mukasey
Harry
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