US Senator Carl Levin accuses CIA of 'Watergate' style evidence destruction
Quote:
The Senate report on CIA interrogations of terrorism suspects disclosed that the agency destroyed videotapes of the interrogations after Sen. Carl Levin pushed for an independent investigation of the treatment of detainees.
"It reminds me of Watergate," the retiring Michigan Democrat, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Wednesday.
The report released Tuesday by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence includes a 2005 email from the CIA's acting general counsel expressing concern that Levin's push for an outside commission was gaining traction and, if created, would uncover the interrogation videos.
"I think I need to be the skunk at the party again and see if the director is willing to let us try one more time to get the right people downtown on board with the notion of our destroying the tapes," wrote John Rizzo.
The report says a senior CIA attorney who had viewed the videotapes agreed that "the sooner we resolve this the better." Another respondent who was not identified said the tapes "should have been destroyed in the normal course of business two years ago."
Levin's proposal for an independent investigation was voted down by the Senate on Nov. 8, 2005. The videotapes were destroyed the next day, according to the report.
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Destroying evidence of criminal misconduct.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...ture/20207577/