At Least Four White House Lawyers Debated Videotape Destruction
White House officials were more involved in discussions about the destruction of videotaped interrogations of al-Qaida suspects than previously reported.
At least four White House lawyers were part of the discussions, the New York Times reports. They are Alberto Gonzales, who was White House counsel until early 2005; Harriet Miers, who replaced him; David Addington, who was counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney; and John B. Bellinger III, who was the senior lawyer at the National Security Council.
Their advice is unclear. Previous reports said White House lawyers counseled against destroying the videotapes, but administration and intelligence officials now differ in their descriptions of the lawyers’ advice.
The New York Times also identified the two lawyers in the CIA who said the tapes could be destroyed. They are Steven Hermes and Robert Eatinger, and their advice was reportedly in writing.
Based on that advice, the chief of the agency’s clandestine branch, Jose Rodriguez Jr., ordered the videotapes destroyed. Although the CIA’s top lawyer, John Rizzo, was aware of the advice by Hermes and Eatinger, he was not told of Rodriguez’s decision before he issued the order, the story says. Nor was CIA chief Porter Goss given advance warning of the decision, according to the account.
The Washington Post reported today that a fifth lawyer, CIA general counsel Scott Muller, also considered whether to destroy the tapes and advised against it. The Post says CIA chief Michael Hayden told lawmakers in closed-door testimony this week that the four White House lawyers consistently counseled caution about destroying the tapes.
A federal judge has ordered a Friday hearing to consider whether destruction of the tapes violated a court order for the preservation of evidence in a case brought by Guantanamo detainees.
Story updated at 9:36 AM on 12/21/2007 to include Washington Post story identifying a fifth lawyer who advised against the destruction of the videotapes.
