Moment of Reckoning

More White House Stonewalling

Citing ongoing investigations, the White House on Friday refused to answer questions about who knew what when about the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing the harsh interrogations of two suspected al-Qaeda operatives. See my Friday column, Bush and the Torture Tapes.

Dan De Luce writes for AFP: "With Democrats and human rights groups charging President George W. Bush's administration may have tried to cover up past abuse, the revelation has revived debate about how [the] administration has treated terror suspects. . . .

"The White House has stopped short of denying any involvement in the affair, after the CIA admitted last week to the destruction of the tapes in light of a New York Times report.

"Aides said that Bush 'has no recollection' of being told about the tapes before the CIA chief briefed him last week."

Indeed, Perino's denial on Friday was very specific and limited. From the Friday briefing:

Q: On these CIA videotapes, did either the President or Vice President or Condoleezza Rice, when she was National Security Advisor, or Steve Hadley, see them before they were destroyed?"

Perino: "I spoke to the President, and so I will have to defer on the others. But I spoke to the President this morning about this. He has no recollection of being made aware of the tapes or their destruction before yesterday. He was briefed by General Hayden yesterday morning. And as to the others, I'll have to -- I'll refer you to the Vice President's office and I'll see if I can get the others."

Faye Fiore and Chuck Neubauer write in the Los Angeles Times: "Senators from both parties suggested Sunday that the CIA's destruction of videotaped interrogations of two suspected Al Qaeda terrorists could constitute obstruction of justice, carried out as the spy agency's methods were coming under fierce legal scrutiny.

"'Burning tapes, destroying evidence -- I don't know how deep this goes. Could there be obstruction of justice? Yes,' Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a frequent critic of Bush administration foreign policy, said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' . . .

"Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Democratic candidate for president, urged Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey to appoint an independent investigator, suggesting the Bush administration could not be trusted to do a thorough job.

"'It appears as though there may be an obstruction of justice charge here -- tampering with evidence and destroying evidence,' Biden told ABC's 'This Week.' 'The easiest, straightest thing to do is to take it out of the political realm, appoint a special prosecutor and let them decide and call -- call it where it is. Is there a criminal violation? If there is, proceed. If not, don't.' . . .

"'I think this leads right into the White House,' Biden said. 'There may be a legal and rational explanation, but I don't see any on the face of it.'