First Subpoena Issued In CIA Tapes Probe

Congressional Panel Subpoenas Ex-CIA Official Who Ordered Destruction Of Interrogation Tapes

(CBS/AP)  The House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena Thursday for Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA official who directed that secret interrogation videotapes of two suspected terrorists be destroyed.

The panel ordered Rodriguez, the former head of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, to appear for a hearing on Jan. 16. Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said Rodriguez "would like to tell his story but his counsel has advised us that a subpoena would be necessary."

Rodriguez ordered the tapes destroyed shortly after a Washington Post expose focused attention on the CIA’s secret prisons, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported.

The CIA cracked open its files to congressional investigators Thursday, inviting them to the agency's Virginia headquarters to begin reviewing documents and records related to the videotapes.

House Intelligence Committee staff members want to know who authorized the tapes' destruction; who in the CIA, Justice Department and White House knew about it and when, and why Congress was not fully informed. The committee, which had threatened to subpoena the records if they did not get access this week, also wants to know exactly what was shown on the tapes, which document the harsh interrogation of two al Qaeda suspects in 2002. The CIA destroyed the tapes in 2005.

"We learned we have a long way to go, that there are a number of people involved that we need to talk with," said a committee official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation of the tapes' destruction is ongoing. "Many in the executive branch will be called." The committee is still drawing up its list of witnesses to call.

President Bush declined to address the controversy, saying at a White House news conference Thursday he was confident that administration and congressional investigations "will end up enabling us all to find out what exactly happened." He repeated his assertion that his "first recollection" of being told about the tapes and their destruction was when CIA Director Michael Hayden briefed him on it earlier this month.

At the Justice Department, investigators were combing through CIA e-mails and other documents and planning to interview former agency officials. One official familiar with the investigation said the review so far indicates that Alberto Gonzales, who served as White House counsel and then attorney general, advised against destroying the videotapes as one of four senior Bush administration attorneys discussing how to handle them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. Gonzales' attorney, George Terwilliger, declined comment.

Another of the administration attorneys, John Bellinger, then a lawyer at the National Security Council, has told colleagues that administration lawyers came to a consensus that the tapes should not be destroyed, said a senior official familiar with Bellinger's account of the 2003 White House discussion. Bellinger could not be reached for comment.

"The clear recommendation of Bellinger and the others was against destruction of the tapes," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "The recommendation in 2003 from the White House was that the tapes should not be destroyed."

Exactly which White House officials and attorneys discussed the tapes' destruction and when, with whom, and what they recommended is still a matter of dispute, and one that Reyes hopes his investigation will settle.

Reyes plans to open his investigation with testimony from Rodriguez and acting CIA general counsel John Rizzo on Jan. 16.

The CIA has consented to allow Rizzo to testify, although it has not committed to a date. Rodriguez is represented by attorney Robert Bennett, who also once represented President Clinton, two former secretaries of defense and New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

Reyes also wants the CIA to make available CIA attorneys Steve Hermes, Robert Eatinger, Elizabeth Vogt and John McPherson to testify before the committee. Former CIA directors Porter Goss and George Tenet, former deputy director of operations James L. Pavitt and former general counsel Scott Muller are also on the list.

Muller, who headed the CIA's legal office from 2002 to 2004, advised agency officials against destroying the tapes, according to former government officials familiar with the situation who are not authorized to speak on the record.

Among the documents the House Intelligence Committee could see is a May 2004 memo Muller wrote recording details of a meeting with White House officials that occurred as the Bush administration was scrambling to deal with the unfolding Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. According to these officials, the White House raised the issue in that meeting and recommended the tapes be retained intact. Muller did not seek White House input in 2003 because he believed the issue had been decided within the agency, the officials said.

Reyes' panel rejected a Bush administration request that it defer its investigation until a preliminary inquiry being conducted the Justice Department and CIA inspector general is completed.

Reyes and the committee's top Republican, Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, asked last week for immediate delivery of all documents, cables and records regarding the taping of detainee interrogations, as well as for testimony from Rizzo and Rodriguez at a planned Dec. 18 hearing. The officials did not come and the documents were not provided immediately.

Reyes said the Justice Department's letter requesting a delay in his investigation had chilled the CIA's willingness to comply with the committee's requests for information and witnesses.

Justice Department officials denied that, saying their letter did not specifically forbid the CIA to testify or provide documents, something the officials said they have no authority to do. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the letter.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey, however, has refused to immediately provide details of the Justice Department's investigation to the congressional judiciary committees out of fear that could taint what may become a criminal case.

In a separate tug-of-war over who has jurisdiction to investigate the videotapes matter, a federal judge has summoned Justice Department lawyers to his courtroom Friday to determine whether the destruction of the tapes violated a court order to preserve evidence about detainees.

[ianlou]

Can our justice system get Bush and Cheney the same way we got Al Capone?
Since Congress can''t make anything else stick, how about Tax evation?

We could reopen Alcatraz and give them both a case of Syphilis.

[mrconservatv]

Bush''s Poll Numbers Worst on Record

How Dirtbag Bush Supported
Our Troops In 2007
Rolling Stone Magazine
12-20-7

1. Required that soldiers discharged early because of battlefield injuries repay their enlistment bonuses.

2. Sent the longest-serving National Guard unit home after 729 days of combat in Iraq - one day shy of the 730 that the soldiers needed to qualify for education benefits.

3. Omitted 20,000 cases of brain trauma from the official tally of troops injured in Iraq.

4. Denied medical benefits to 22,000 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress by discharging them for having enlisted with "pre-existing personality disorders".


http://www.RollingStone.com

Rolling Stone Magazine
December 27 - January 10 issue

[fornicario]

Poop, Willy, where are you? Or just ran out of straws to grasp?

[mrconservatv]

Cheney Shoots Man Dead in his Face with Shotgun Blast


t r u t h o u t - ISSUES - Cheney Moves to Block 911 ProbeCheney Moves to Block 9-11 Probe By Alison Mitchell. May 20, 2002 .... independent counsel investigations that chased Bill Clinton across his presidency. ...
www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.21A.Cheney.Block.911.htm - 19k - Cached - Similar pages


Cheney offices in the Executive Office Building go up in smoke ...Cheney offices in the Executive Office Building go up in smoke

"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays, everybody''s crazy."
-- Charles Manson, serial killer and one-time cult leader

[mrconservatv]

"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays, everybody''''''''s crazy."
-- Charles Manson, serial killer and one-time cult leader

It''''s amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity and incumbency."
George W. Bush, June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling


It''''s amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity and incumbency."
George W. Bush, June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling

[mrconservatv]

"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays, everybody''''''''''''''''s crazy."
-- Charles Manson, serial killer and one-time cult leader


If the people knew what we had done, they would chase us down the street and lynch us.
George H.W. Bush to journalist Sarah McClendon, December 1992, in response to the question, "What will the people do if they ever find out the truth about Iraq-gate and Iran contra?"

[mrconservatv]

Posted by william19491

That''s UnRepublican to admit being part of criminal activity no matter what the reason. When your leaders are part of the largest underground satanic cult in the world and morality is a code word for gather unto me what doesn%u2019t belong to me.


H e l l hath no fury like a guilty Republican busted.

[liberalme]

Indeed..which is why Bush was elected twice.

Posted by poopusbuttus at 11:24 AM : Dec 21, 2007

Bush was never elected once!

[fornicario]

POOPUSBUTTUS** Hey what about John Kerry too? He called the troops muderers and rapists---

Posted by william19491
"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals."


For you MICMA

Posted by poopusbuttus

So, we are using thirty year old quotes to say that Kerry called our soldiers murderers and rapists? Let''s reach back to that time to get some insight on Bush''s extensive war experience, fighting it from a Congressman''s office in Alabama, if I recall correctly. Kerry may have committed atrocities, yes. But he actually went to war, not ran to the nearest safe haven Daddy could provide for him.

[poopusbuttus]

On NBC''s Meet The Press in 1971, Kerry was asked whether he had personally committed atrocities in Vietnam. He responded:

"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals."


For you MICMA

[fornicario]

fornicario--you libs are good at trying to twist and turn words---won''''t work bud---by the way, you are not the only one with relatives in Iraq--a lot of us do

Posted by william19491

So, you are the sole arbiter of who is a real vet and who is not, is that what you are saying? Tell me, which soldiers are worth more? The ones who shut up and die without questioning anything they do? Do the ones who get ignored by the government when they come home looking for the care and benefits they were promised get to be maligned and slandered by the likes of you? Tell us, what makes a soldier worthy in your book, since you obviously require more of them than the simple willingness to put on a uniform and sacrifice for this country.

[micma-2009]

william19491

Where did Kerry say that? Put up or shut up. Do you just come here to spew? If you couldn''t lie an spin you''''d have nothing to say.

[micma-2009]

william19491

Where did Kerry say that? Put up or shut up. Do you just come here to spew? If you couldn''t lie an spin you''d have nothing to say.

[micma-2009]

william19491

Where did Kerry say that? Put up or shut up. Do you just come here to spew?

[fornicario]

fornicario** aw, you have sob story after sob story don''''t you--poor bebe!!

Posted by william19491

No, just a family, and I am proud of what he does, even if you would slander him for not being a true vet.

[micma-2009]

william19491


William? Tick..tock...tick...tock.....crickets

[fornicario]

No, I drive a 2002 car. And, it''''''''s paid for. HAHAHA You know why? Because I work. I dont ask for handouts like you libs.
Posted by poopusbuttus

Wow, you work for the pentagon and all you have to show for it is an almost six year old car? Cripes, I assumed government service paid better than that. You better get yourself into the private sector son.

Posted by omega39

I would figure he could afford better with his military pension too.

[micma-2009]

william19491

Where did Kerry say that? Put up or shut up. Do you just come here to spew?

[fornicario]

fornicario** now who sounds childish!! anyone would look better than those two

Posted by william19491

Always have to be a party pooper, don''t you?

[micma-2009]

william19491

Put up shut up you lying sack of *****.