Gotcha!---CIA tape destruction: "They never told us, 'Hell, no'

[kpete]

CIA tape destruction: "They never told us, 'Hell, no'...
Gotcha!

Lawyers within the clandestine branch of the Central Intelligence Agency gave written approval in advance to the destruction in 2005 of hundreds of hours of videotapes documenting interrogations of two lieutenants from Al Qaeda, according to a former senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the episode.

...The former intelligence official acknowledged that there had been nearly two years of debate among government agencies about what to do with the tapes, and that lawyers within the White House and the Justice Department had in 2003 advised against a plan to destroy them. But the official said that C.I.A. officials had continued to press the White House for a firm decision, and that the C.I.A. was never given a direct order not to destroy the tapes.

“They never told us, ‘Hell, no,’” he said. “If somebody had said, ‘You cannot destroy them,’ we would not have destroyed them.”

The former official spoke on condition of anonymity because there is a continuing Justice Department inquiry into the matter. He said he was sympathetic to Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the former chief of the clandestine branch, who has been described by intelligence officials as having authorized the destruction of the tapes. The former official said he was concerned that Mr. Rodriguez was being unfairly singled out for blame in the destruction of the tapes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/washington/11intel.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

We knew that, didn't we.
http://prairieweather.typepad.com/big_blue_stem/2007/12/cia-tape-destru.html

[Bitwit1234]

1. The problem is now, some of the stuff this administration says and does

is being reported in the press. BEFORE the MSM went along with anything said. Rove probably thought his words would still be taken as gospel. He didn't realize it would be questioned. The republicans used to be able to make their lies-- truth not now, people are questioning.

[gratuitous]

2. Well, what's done is done

No sense wallowing in the past. In the long run we're all dead. Move along, nothing to see here.

Besides, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence is so much more preferable than being charged with crimes against humanity, n'est-ce pas?