Judiciary Democrats Call For Special Counsel To Investigate Destroyed CIA Tapes

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey Tuesday to appoint a special counsel to investigate the CIA's destruction of videotapes that recorded the harsh interrogation of suspected members of al Qaeda.

The letter comes on the eve of a House intelligence committee hearing about the destruction of those tapes, which captured CIA operatives submitting the two suspected terrorists to simulated drowning, known as waterboarding.

Robert Rodriguez, the CIA official who ordered the tapes to be destroyed, will not appear in the intelligence committee's closed hearing because his lawyer alerted the committee that his client would not answer questions unless members grant him immunity, a committee aide said.

His lawyer, Robert Bennett, suggested the committee needed more time to prepare for its interview with Rodriguez and delayed his hearing as a result. The CIA official wants immunity so that he will not be prosecuted for his remarks to the committee.