The US Justice Department opened on Wednesday a criminal
investigation into the destruction of interrogation videotapes by
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
"The Department's National Security Division has recommended,
and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a
criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to
begin that investigation," Attorney General Michael Mukasey said in
a statement.
However, he noted "the opening of an investigation does not mean
that criminal charges will necessarily follow."
A federal prosecutor, John Durham, was appointed to oversee the
investigation and lead agents from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) in determining whether the CIA broke any laws
in destroying the tapes.
Mukasey described the first assistant U.S. attorney in
Connecticut as "a widely respected and experienced career
prosecutor" who had supervised a wide range of complex
investigations.
For its part, CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said the agency "will
of course cooperate fully with this investigation as it has with
the others into this matter."
CIA Director Michael Hayden acknowledged last month that the
agency has made videotapes of interrogating two terrorist suspects
in 2002 and destroyed them three years later.
The destruction of the tapes was condemned by Congress and human
rights groups as an attempt to cover up interrogation practices
such as "water boarding" that were widely seen as torture. The
acknowledgment sparked a congressional inquiry and a preliminary
investigation by Justice Department and CIA.
(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2008)
