Hoekstra: Rodigruez Must Answer Questions About Destroyed CIA Tapes

Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, reiterated his desire Wednesday to speak with the CIA official who ordered interrogation tapes to be destroyed.

Jose Rodriguez Jr., the official in question, did not appear at a committee hearing Wednesday with CIA General Counsel John A. Rizzo because he has refused to testify unless lawmakers grant him full immunity. He ordered colleagues to destroy tapes that captured the simulated drowning of two suspected members of al Qaeda.

"We need to talk to Mr. Rodriguez," Hoekstra said afterward.

Appearing alone at an impromptu press conference afterward, the Michigan Republican also expressed concern that the investigation has not been thoroughly organized, citing a committee vote before the hearing to overrule Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) and block Rizzo from appearing with any aides.

Hoekstra would not get into specifics about Rizzo's testimony, except to say that he had been forthcoming. And he suggested the committee release a report once members have heard from Rodriguez and others about the destruction of these tapes.  The Washington Post had an excellent chronology of the back-and-forth surrounding their destruction Wednesday morning.

He was also confident the committee could do its work without impeding an ongoing criminal probe initiated by the Justice Department and said lawmakers would stand down if they believed they were hampering that investigation.