WTF? Key CIA Tapes Witness *Not Questioned* ; Also Yoo - no misconduct. (NBC)

[chill_wind]

Former officer who approved destruction wasn't questioned

WASHINGTON — A special prosecutor cleared CIA employees Tuesday of any criminal charges for destroying videotapes that showed waterboarding of terror suspects, even though two sources close to the case say a key witness was never questioned.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that special counsel John Durham never issued a grand jury subpoena for testimony from Jose Rodriguez, the CIA's former top clandestine officer, who approved the destruction of the tapes.

Rodriguez' lawyer, Bob Bennett, had made clear that his client would not testify without a grant of immunity. But Durham's failure to call Rodriguez, or even question him as a witness, surprised one lawyer close to the case, indicating it could raise questions about the special counsel's claim that he had conducted a "thorough" investigation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40091824/ns/us_news-security

Also in the report:

Separately, the Justice Department advised the House of Representatives and Senate judiciary committees that it had reviewed newly found e-mails sent by Bush administration lawyer John Yoo and stands by a conclusion that Yoo did not commit professional misconduct in authorizing CIA interrogators to use waterboarding and other harsh tactics. The department's letter to the committees, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, stood by the earlier finding that Yoo had merely exhibited poor judgment.

[EFerrari]

1. Am I remembering correctly that Rodriguez is a BushCo good ole boy

from way back who at one time "worked" in Central America?

Damn, we'll never get rid of this BushCo mafia at this rate. It's just like living in the world's biggest Banana Republic.

[chill_wind]

2. Yes you are. Started his career in 1976.

It's quite a read, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Rodriguez_%28intelligence_officer%29

Containing, once again, the words "remarkable lack of judgment."

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. the current administration is too scared to take on the Bush boys

[defendandprotect]

4. K&R for tomorrow --

[iamtechus]

5. "Yoo had merely exhibited poor judgment"

Un-fucking believable. The prisons are full of people who exhibited poor judgement. Sorry, lawyers aren't allowed that excuse in war crimes cases.

[chill_wind]

6. +1

[City Lights]

7. Nothing to see here, people.

Move along now.

[Supersedeas]

8. and the whitewash continues--Justice seems to have been co-opted by forces more

powerful than laws can attest to.

[chill_wind]

9. More on what Rodrguez did (from July)

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2010
Key Omission Marked Order to Destroy CIA Tapes
Lawyers' Names Absent from Document Ordering Destruction of Waterboarding Videos; Probe into Action Nears

* CIA's top clandestine officer, Jose Rodriguez, sent a cable to the agency's secret prison in Thailand and told his station chief to destroy videotapes showing two terrorists being waterboarded. Rodriguez wasn't disciplined for what some former officials told prosecutors amounted to insubordination, and is frequently back at CIA headquarters as a contractor.

(AP) When the CIA sent word in 2005 to destroy scores of videos showing waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, there was an unusual omission in the carefully worded memo: the names of two agency lawyers.

Once a CIA lawyer has weighed in on even a routine matter, officers rarely give an order without copying the lawyer in on the decision. It's standard procedure, a way for managers to cover themselves if a decision goes bad.

But when the CIA's top clandestine officer, Jose Rodriguez, sent a cable to the agency's secret prison in Thailand and told his station chief to destroy videotapes showing two terrorists being waterboarded, he left the lawyers off the memo.

(snip)


Leaving the lawyers he had consulted off his cabled order to destroy the tapes was so unusual that a top CIA official noted it in an internal e-mail just days later. The omission is now an important part of the Justice Department's 2 1/2-year investigation into whether destroying the tapes was a crime.

The destruction of the tapes wiped away the most graphic evidence of the CIA's now-shuttered network of overseas prisons, where suspected terrorists were interrogated for information using some of the most aggressive tactics in U.S. history.

Good article that summarizes the events and names all the players.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/26/national/main6713931.shtml

[gratuitous]

10. No investigation, no evidence

It's really quite simple. And without evidence, you can't get an indictment. Without an indictment, you can't bring charges. Without charges, nobody has to answer for anything. All those guys apparently just tortured themselves. We're blameless! U!S!A! U!S!A!

I hope none of the survivors or any of their friends or families hold a grudge. Because it would be unfair in the extreme if they decided to visit a little righteous retribution on us, particularly if they attacked targets they could reach rather than going to all the trouble of actually finding those responsible. But you and I won't mind paying with our horrific, fiery deaths for the sins of the Bush administration, will we?

[chill_wind]

11. Very clearly.

Makes the Watergate Tapes and the Rose Mary Woods stretch look like petty pre-school shenanigans.
With the added difference that an American populace was actually interested and paying attention.

[Solly Mack]

12. K&R

and a CIA lawyer was granted immunity early on in the investigation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/24/AR2010032403109.html

[chill_wind]

13. Thanks Solly Mack. I see torturer "Albert" pops up in this article, also.

In August, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. directed Durham to expand his focus and investigate whether to launch a criminal probe of a small number of cases in which CIA contractors went outside the boundaries of Justice Department guidance in interrogating terrorism suspects. Among the cases, which date to 2002, is the alleged use of a drill and a firearm in the questioning of Nashiri, according to government documents released last year.

Given that he's been kept on and was given a different job monthss ago as CIA contractor (I posted link the other day)it looks like Holder/Durham have wrapped up their interest in any of that, as well.

Like I said, Panetta and Company can't let that kind of talent go wasted, now can they?

Panetta said at his confirmation there would be no CIA witch hunts. There was plenty of back-slapping on both sides of the aisle. He sailed right through, baby.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Senate Confirms Panetta

By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF

Without objection, the Senate on Thursday night confirmed Leon Panetta as CIA director, a day after the Senate Intelligence Committee recommended without opposition that he be approved.

http://lostintransition.nationaljournal.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?tag=Leon%20Panetta&blog_id=49&IncludeBlogs=49

[Solly Mack]

14. You're welcome!! Thank you for all you do!!!

[SpiralHawk]

15. "Tee hee. Smirk." - RepubliCronies for Torture (R)