Did the CIA cover up illegal torture?

AP file photo

Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Wednesday named John Durham (above) to oversee the probe of the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes.

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Did the CIA cover up illegal torture?

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced Wednesday that the Justice Department will open a criminal investigation of the CIA's
destruction of videotapes that showed harsh interrogation tactics of suspected terrorists. Mukasey cautioned that "the opening of an
investigation does not mean that criminal charges will necessarily follow." But the move marks a significant escalation of the CIA tapes
inquiry, which began Dec. 8 following the CIA's disclosure that tapes showing interrogations of two al-Qaeda prisoners in 2002 were destroyed by the agency three years later.

We cannot let destruction of evidence go unchallenged

Ed Morrissey/Captain's Quarters

John Durham has extensive experience in politically sensitive investigations. Durham will have his opportunity to determine whether anyone broke the law. People across the political spectrum should cheer this opportunity to clear the air and to see that the rule of law prevails.

Stonewalled by the CIA

Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton/The New York Times

But the recent revelations that the C.I.A. destroyed videotaped interrogations of Qaeda operatives leads us to conclude that the agency failed to respond to our lawful requests for information about the 9/11 plot. Those who knew about those videotapes — and did not tell us about them — obstructed our investigation. There could have been absolutely no doubt in the mind of anyone at the C.I.A. — or the White House — of the commission’s interest in any and all information related to Qaeda detainees involved in the 9/11 plot. Yet no one in the administration ever told the commission of the existence of videotapes of detainee interrogations.