Judge defers ruling on Guantanamo tapes inquiry
Judge defers ruling on Guantanamo tapes inquiry
Sat Dec 22, 7:52 AM ET
by Roland Lloyd Parry
A US judge has deferred ruling on demands by inmates at Guantanamo Bay for a court inquiry into the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terror suspects.
Federal District Court Judge Henry Kennedy held a hearing Friday on whether the spy agency violated his 2005 order to preserve any possible evidence of detainee mistreatment at the US prison camp in Cuba.
The scandal came to light earlier this month when Central Intelligence Agency chief Michael Hayden informed staff that in 2005 the agency had destroyed tapes showing the interrogations of two Al-Qaeda suspects.
Defense lawyer David Remes had asked the court to call an inquiry into the affair, as the tapes reportedly show the suspects undergoing waterboarding, a process of simulated drowning that is widely considered torture.
But government lawyers -- who denied the tapes contained scenes of torture of suspects at Guantanamo -- said this should wait until the Justice Department concluded its own investigation into the matter.
The judge said he would consider the demand for a court inquiry, without saying when he would issue his ruling.
At one point in court, the judge appeared to back the government's view that the Justice Department be allowed to investigate the matter first, asking: "Why should the court not permit the Department of Justice to do just that?"
Remes said the government could not be trusted. "Plainly, the government wants only foxes guarding the henhouse," he said in his motion, according to US media reports.
"Where there is smoke there is fire. We have a smoking gun, as it were, with respect to the government's destruction of potentially relevant evidence," he said.
"The revelation of the CIA's destruction (of the tapes) raises serious questions about whether the government has complied with the court's order ... and its more general obligations" to preserve evidence, he said.
Remes raised concerns about how the government has handled evidence in the case of one of his clients.
But government attorneys said the two detainees on the tapes were not held at Guantanamo when the videos were made.
"It is inconceivable that the destroyed tapes could have been about abuse, mistreatment or torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay," said Justice Department lawyer Joseph "Jody" Hunt, representing the White House.
He told the court the tapes were made in 2002, and that neither of the two men shown "was at Guantanamo Bay during the taping of these videos." He did not comment on why the tapes were destroyed.
In 2005, judge Kennedy had ordered the preservation of "any evidence of torture, mistreatment and abuse of detainees" who were at Guantanamo Bay at the time of the order in June 2005.
The tapes affair has put the administration of US President George W. Bush on the defensive yet again over its treatment of "war on terror" detainees.
Bush has refused to comment on the destruction of the tapes, saying he will await the results of inquiries, but has repeatedly insisted that the US does not use torture.
He has also said he did not recall learning about the existence of the recordings until Hayden briefed him two weeks ago.
Defense lawyer Hunt said Friday that if the Washington court opened its own inquiry it would "compromise" the Justice Department's investigations, adding: "It would be unwise."
Meanwhile, a review by former members of the commission that investigated the September 11 attacks, reported in the New York Times Saturday, raised more questions about the CIA's credibility in the tape affair.
A review of correspondence between the 9/11 commission and the CIA revealed that despite repeated requests for information about interrogation of Al-Qaeda operatives, the panel was never notified about the tapes, the paper said.
The former commission members accused the CIA of obstructing its work by withholding the interrogation tapes, and suggested further investigation was needed to determine if the agency acted illegally.
http://tinyurl.com/23wgy7
Sat Dec 22, 7:52 AM ET
by Roland Lloyd Parry
A US judge has deferred ruling on demands by inmates at Guantanamo Bay for a court inquiry into the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terror suspects.
Federal District Court Judge Henry Kennedy held a hearing Friday on whether the spy agency violated his 2005 order to preserve any possible evidence of detainee mistreatment at the US prison camp in Cuba.
The scandal came to light earlier this month when Central Intelligence Agency chief Michael Hayden informed staff that in 2005 the agency had destroyed tapes showing the interrogations of two Al-Qaeda suspects.
Defense lawyer David Remes had asked the court to call an inquiry into the affair, as the tapes reportedly show the suspects undergoing waterboarding, a process of simulated drowning that is widely considered torture.
But government lawyers -- who denied the tapes contained scenes of torture of suspects at Guantanamo -- said this should wait until the Justice Department concluded its own investigation into the matter.
The judge said he would consider the demand for a court inquiry, without saying when he would issue his ruling.
At one point in court, the judge appeared to back the government's view that the Justice Department be allowed to investigate the matter first, asking: "Why should the court not permit the Department of Justice to do just that?"
Remes said the government could not be trusted. "Plainly, the government wants only foxes guarding the henhouse," he said in his motion, according to US media reports.
"Where there is smoke there is fire. We have a smoking gun, as it were, with respect to the government's destruction of potentially relevant evidence," he said.
"The revelation of the CIA's destruction (of the tapes) raises serious questions about whether the government has complied with the court's order ... and its more general obligations" to preserve evidence, he said.
Remes raised concerns about how the government has handled evidence in the case of one of his clients.
But government attorneys said the two detainees on the tapes were not held at Guantanamo when the videos were made.
"It is inconceivable that the destroyed tapes could have been about abuse, mistreatment or torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay," said Justice Department lawyer Joseph "Jody" Hunt, representing the White House.
He told the court the tapes were made in 2002, and that neither of the two men shown "was at Guantanamo Bay during the taping of these videos." He did not comment on why the tapes were destroyed.
In 2005, judge Kennedy had ordered the preservation of "any evidence of torture, mistreatment and abuse of detainees" who were at Guantanamo Bay at the time of the order in June 2005.
The tapes affair has put the administration of US President George W. Bush on the defensive yet again over its treatment of "war on terror" detainees.
Bush has refused to comment on the destruction of the tapes, saying he will await the results of inquiries, but has repeatedly insisted that the US does not use torture.
He has also said he did not recall learning about the existence of the recordings until Hayden briefed him two weeks ago.
Defense lawyer Hunt said Friday that if the Washington court opened its own inquiry it would "compromise" the Justice Department's investigations, adding: "It would be unwise."
Meanwhile, a review by former members of the commission that investigated the September 11 attacks, reported in the New York Times Saturday, raised more questions about the CIA's credibility in the tape affair.
A review of correspondence between the 9/11 commission and the CIA revealed that despite repeated requests for information about interrogation of Al-Qaeda operatives, the panel was never notified about the tapes, the paper said.
The former commission members accused the CIA of obstructing its work by withholding the interrogation tapes, and suggested further investigation was needed to determine if the agency acted illegally.
http://tinyurl.com/23wgy7
bin66 - 23. Dez, 00:00
