Justice Dept. Expands Investigation of Possible CIA Wrongdoing
Related subjects: Executive Powers, In the Loop, Obama administration, Open Government, Rendition & Ghost Flights, Rights & Freedoms, Security & Surveillance, U.S. Law, U.S. Politics, U.S. news Comments (0)
A special prosecutor’s investigation launched under the Bush administration, to collect evidence relating to the CIA’s destruction of video tapes of abusive interrogations has been expanded to include possible illegal activity carried out in connection with the “war on terror”. Holder announced on Monday that US Attorney John Durham will expand the videotape-destruction probe to include potential illegal activities related to abusive interrogations and potentially the circumventing of due process laws, both international and domestic.
Former vice president Dick Cheney has criticized the move, accusing the Obama administration of showing it is incapable of protecting the nation. His position relating to torture and broad executive powers not founded in written law has become increasingly radical as evidence has increased that substantial amounts of illegal activities were planned and supervised from within the administration of which he was an integral part.
Cheney’s remarks are now being seen as a mischaracterization of the facts. He alleged that the White House directly “allowed” the special prosecutor to expand the inquiry, but in fact the White House was not involved in the decision. According to the Washington Post:
Cheney added that CIA summaries of the results of its interrogations, released on Monday at his request, document that the agency’s implementation of Bush administration policies was “directly responsible for defeating all efforts by al-Qaeda to launch further mass casualty attacks” on the country.
A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, called Cheney’s comments “off base” and took umbrage at the idea that Obama had personally allowed Durham to expand his inquiry. “This was not something the White House allowed, this was something the AG decided,” the official said, referring to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
Holder’s decision was reportedly made in connection with specific legal issues that might be seen as a conflict for the Justice Dept. itself to investigate. The expanded investigation may find wrongdoing by field agents, senior agency officials or officials within the upper echelon of the Bush administration, possibly including direct command links to the Office of the Vice President, then Dick Cheney.
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