Congress, Bush in clash over CIA interrogation tapes
Sat Dec 15, 5:11 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Congress and President George W. Bush were headed for confrontation Saturday as US lawmakers accused the Justice Department of blocking their probe into whether the CIA tried to cover up torture by destroying interrogation tapes.
Lawmakers from both parties expressed outrage after Bush's Attorney General Michael Mukasey asked a congressional panel to postpone its investigation of the destroyed videotapes on grounds it could jeopardize the Justice Department's own inquiry into the affair.
"Earlier today, our staff was notified that the Department of Justice has advised CIA not cooperate with our investigation," said a statement Friday from the Democratic chair of the House intelligence committee, Silvestre Reyes, and the ranking Republican, Pete Hoekstra.
"We are stunned that the Justice Department would move to block our investigation. Parallel investigations occur all the time, and there is no basis upon which the attorney general can stand in the way of our work," the statement said.
"It is clear that there's more to this story than we have been told, and it is unfortunate that we are being prevented from learning the facts," it added.
The two lawmakers threatened to issue subpoenas to obtain relevant information and to force Central Intelligence Agency officials to testify if the Justice Department refused to back down.
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