Judge appears wary in CIA tape case

This is the first time the
administration has been forced into court in the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge appeared reluctant Friday to press for details about the CIA’s destruction of interrogation videotapes while the Justice Department is conducting its own inquiry.

U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy is considering whether to schedule a hearing to delve into the matter and, if so, how deeply to probe the spy agency. The Bush administration is urging him to back off while it investigates.

“Why should the court not permit the Department of Justice to do just that?” Kennedy asked at a court hearing.

The hearing marked the first time the administration has been forced into court about the matter since the CIA disclosed this month it destroyed the tapes of officers using tough interrogation methods while questioning two al-Qaida suspects.

Government lawyer Joseph Hunt said the joint Justice Department-CIA investigation into the destruction of the videos will also seek evidence of whether the government violated any court orders. Hunt promised the judge that, when the investigation is complete, lawyers will tell the court if its rules were violated.

“It would be unwise and imprudent” for the judge to investigate further, Hunt said.

The judge had ordered the government not to destroy any evidence of mistreatment or abuse at the Navy base in Cuba. Because the two suspects — Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri — were being held overseas in secret CIA prisons, however, they are likely not covered by the order.

David Remes, a lawyer for Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay, argues the destruction of the tapes may have violated a court order and may indicate that other evidence was also destroyed. Remes noted that the government was prohibited from destroying any evidence that could be relevant in a case, even if not directly noted in a court order.

“We have a smoking gun, as it were, with respect to the government’s destruction of potentially relevant evidence,” Remes said.

Lawmakers have expressed similar concerns. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., wrote a letter Friday to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell urging them not to destroy any other videos.

“It is of the utmost importance to Congress and to the American people that the record with regard to this issue so crucial both to our security and to our values not be further compromised,” the lawmakers wrote.

In court, Remes urged the judge not to take a back seat to the executive branch, which destroyed the documents in the first place.