Ranking Republican: CIA Wanted Torture Tapes Preserved
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., responding to closed testimony from the CIA's acting general counsel, John Rizzo, said it appeared that the officer who destroyed evidence of "enhanced" interrogations was acting against orders. Jose Rodriguez, the official in question, is asking for immunity before he tells his side of the story to Congress.Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., responding to closed testimony from the CIA’s acting general counsel, John Rizzo, said it appeared that the officer who destroyed evidence of “enhanced” interrogations was acting against orders. Jose Rodriguez, the official in question, is asking for immunity before he tells his side of the story to Congress.
Rock Solid JournalismAP via Google:
WASHINGTON — The CIA official who gave the command to destroy interrogation videotapes apparently acted against the direction of his superiors, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday.
“It appears he hadn’t gotten authority from anyone,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., speaking to reporters after the first day of closed testimony in the committee’s investigation. “It appears he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed.”
[…] The man at the center of the controversy, Jose Rodriguez, had been scheduled to appear Wednesday, but his demand for immunity delayed his testimony. Rodriguez was the head of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, the CIA branch that oversees spying operations and interrogations. He gave the order to destroy the tapes in November 2005.
In 2026, amid chaos and the nonstop flurry of headlines, Truthdig remains independent, fact-based and focused on exposing what power tries to hide.
Support Independent Journalism.
Books
The recent book by John Dinges pursues the untold story behind the killings of two Americans by the Chilean military after the 1973 coup.
Books
Historian Jeff Schuhrke documents the AFL-CIO’s role in weakening left-wing labor unions around the world between the '40s and '90s.
Politics
Piecing together newly unredacted files and personal accounts, we know now there was a powerful shift against the agency's 'rogue autonomy.' Until there wasn't.
Media
Two decades after Webb’s death, the U.S. government hasn’t kicked the habit of wreaking lethal havoc at home and abroad.
TD Interview
The director of “JFK” on the Kennedy cover-up, why he was killed, and what the country—and the world—suffered as a result.
Ear to the Ground
Reports of rampant sexual abuse pile up at Langley headquarters.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.