CIA Says Destroyed Videos Didn’t Violate Court Order
The CIA says it did not violate a court order when it destroyed videos of two suspects undergoing harsh interrogations.
In court filings, the agency said a document search found no evidence of “intentional, accidental, or negligent destruction of records” falling under a preservation order by U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts, report the New York Times and the Associated Press.
The court filings say the destroyed tapes apparently did not contain information relevant to the case of Yemeni detainee Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, but did not offer many details to support its conclusion.
Federal prosecutor John Durham of Connecticut is leading a Justice Department investigation into whether officials violated a court order in Abdullah’s case and 16 others by hiding or destroying interrogation videotapes. One of the court documents was filed by Robert Deitz, a CIA official heading a group set up to respond to requests by Durham and lawmakers.
Abdullah’s lawyer, Charles Carpenter, said he wanted more information. “The government seems to be playing a passive-aggressive version of hide-and-seek,” he said.
