January 26, 2008

No plans for special prosecutor to investigate CIA tapes

[oh, yeah, like any of THIS is surprising.

But Wait! He hasn't addressed the issue of violating the Presidential Records Act by having the Presidential emails to missing! Gee, how's he gonna get around THAT?

No politics being played in this fine BuZh appointment! None at all. Waterboarding? Well, we'll just throw Geneva out the window! Niiiiiiiiiiice. Competant legal authority that Mukasey. THE LAW IS ON THE BOOKS. The clock is winding down. Will Congress just allow this? I should put up a whole new poll taking ODDS.

No special prosecutor - no real subpoenas for the BuZh department to answer to. Very neat.

Enquiring minds want to KNOW what is in the destroyed evidence?

Veeger


By Lara Jakes Jordan
Associated Press / January 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Michael Mukasey said yesterday that he does not plan for a special prosecutor to investigate whether the CIA broke the law when it destroyed videotapes of terror interrogations, defying some in Congress who want an independent look at the politically charged case.

Mukasey, in a 41-minute briefing with reporters, also ducked questions about whether he considers waterboarding an illegal form of torture - an issue expected to be at the top of the agenda when he appears next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Speaking in an even, low tone, Mukasey would not discuss whether he has seen evidence that destroying the interrogation tapes violated court orders or interfered with any case. He said the ongoing criminal investigation, headed by career federal prosecutor John Durham of Connecticut, was opened on grounds of "some indication - which is a lot less than probable cause - some indication that there was any violation of any federal statute."

Asked if he has reconsidered his decision not to put a special prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Mukasey said,

"No."

Mukasey was even more reluctant to discuss the act of waterboarding - the interrogation tactic that is believed to have been shown on the destroyed tapes.

"I understand there's interest in that," Mukasey said yesterday, noting that he promised senators last fall that he would review the practice of waterboarding and "offer the view of whether the current program is lawful or not."

In his first congressional hearing since being sworn in, Mukasey is scheduled to testify Wednesday in front of the Senate Judiciary panel that threatened his nomination. Ten senators, led by Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, demanded this week that Mukasey clarify his stand on waterboarding, saying he has had ample time "to study this issue and reach a conclusion."

Durham recently added two veteran organized crime prosecutors from Boston to his team investigating the destroyed CIA tapes. James Farmer is the head of the criminal division and supervises the national security section for the US attorney's office. James Herbert is the head of the state's Organized Crime Strike Force.

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