U.S. Attorney General Launches Criminal Probe at CIA

Wednesday January 2, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA videotapes that allegedly showed the use of torture during Al-Qaeda interrogations.^[1]

The announcement deepened the legal morass that is currently swallowing up the Central Intelligence Agency.^[2] The CIA stands accused also of impeding a high-profile investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[3]

The U.S. Justice Department held a preliminary inquiry after last month's revelation that the CIA, in 2005, had destroyed tapes of harsh interrogations of two Al-Qaeda suspects in the months after the 9/11 attacks.^[4]

In a statement, the new attorney general said he had now concluded "that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter. The opening of an investigation does not mean that criminal charges will necessarily follow," stressed Mukasey.^[5]

The criminal probe is being led by John Durham, first assistant US attorney in Connecticut, Durham will lead agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in determining whether the CIA broke any laws in destroying the tapes.^[6]

The tapes reportedly showed the two suspects undergoing waterboarding, in which prisoners are subjected to a process of simulated drowning that is widely considered torture.^[7] It has been asserted that the videos were made in 2002 and destroyed in 2005 to protect the identity of agency operatives; George Tenet was CIA chief when the tapes were made, and Porter Goss headed the agency when the tapes were destroyed.^[8]

The White House has insisted that the United States does not torture anyone, but refused to confirm what tactics might have been in the past to glean information out of reluctant detainees.^[9]

If anyone is to be charged after this investigation they will most likely be charged with obstruction of justice. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a), it is a crime for a person to corruptly influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice. The punishment for a violation of section 1503(a) is a fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.

Federal criminal attorney Douglas McNabb has also previously discussed obstruction of justice in his blog, here.

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^[1] AFP Staff, CIA hit by criminal probe over destroyed Al-Qaeda tapes, AFP, January 2, 2008, available at http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5icV3VWFuZlYU91Y14vTCpq62WRDQ (January 3, 2008).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.