December 9, 2007 at 21:04:11

U.S. Attorney Says Two CIA Interrogation Tapes Still Exist

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By Skeeter Sanders (about the author) Page 3 of 3 page(s)

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Biden Wants Special Prosecutor to Probe Tapes' Destruction

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats called Sunday for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the destruction of the tapes. Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware), chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, called on Gonzales' successor, Edward Mukasey, to make such an appointment.

For their part, the Justice Department and the CIA's inspector general had announced on Saturday they would conduct a joint inquiry into the matter. That review will determine whether a full investigation is warranted.

Biden made it clear, however, that he doesn't trust Mukasey to conduct a thorough inquiry. "He's the same guy who couldn't decide whether or not waterboarding was torture and he's going to be doing this investigation," said Biden, who voted against Mukasey's nomination to become the nation's top law enforcer. "I just think it's clearer and crisper and everyone will know what the truth ... if he appoints a special counsel, [and] steps back from it."

But Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he'd rather see Congress get to the bottom of the matter. "I don't think there's a need for a special counsel, and I don't think there's a need for a special commission," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"It is the job of the intelligence committees to do that." Rockefeller continued. Senator Chuck Hagel, (R-Nebraska), the ranking Republican on the intelligence committee agreed with Rockefeller's sentiment.

Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-Michigan), also expressed alarm over the destruction of the tapes. Hoekstra, who was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from 2004 until the Democrats took back control of the House in 2006, said he had never been told that the tapes were destroyed.

“I think the intelligence committee needs to get all over this,” said Hoekstra, a longtime supporter of the CIA detention and interrogation program. “This raises a red flag that needs to be looked at.”

Already, the Senate and House intelligence committees are both investigating the destruction of the tapes and Hagel said one goal is to know whether justice was obstructed and who in the White House might have known about the fate of the tapes.

McCain: Controversy 'Harms America's Moral Standing in the World'

On the presidential campaign trail, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said the destruction of the tapes "harms the credibility and the moral standing of America in the world again. There will be skepticism and cynicism all over the world about how we treat prisoners and whether we practice torture or not."

Rival Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, questioned whether the action was taken for security purposes "or to cover somebody's rear end."

"If we're covering somebody's rear end, we need to expose their rear end and kick their rear end for doing something that's against the best interest of the United States," he said.

Biden asserted the "easiest, straightest thing to do is to take it out of the political realm, appoint a special prosecutor and let them decide, and call — call it where it is. Is there a criminal violation? If there is, proceed. If not, don't."

Copyright 2007, Skeeter Sanders. All rights reserved.

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I'm a native of New York City who's called the Green Mountain state of Vermont home since the summer of 1994. A former freelance journalist, I'm a fiercely independent freethinker who's highly skeptical of authority figures -- especially when (more...)

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