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DOJ to House Intel: We Don't Need No Duplication
As Paul noted in the Must Read, the leaders of the House intelligence committee aren't exactly impressed by the Justice Department's attempt to halt their investigation of the destruction of the CIA's torture tapes. Reading the letter that Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein and CIA Inspector General John Helgerson sent to the committee, it's not hard to see why.
We've added the Wainstein-Helgerson letter to our document collection, and you can read it in its entirety here.
On Friday, Wainstein and Helgerson asked the House to shut down its probe. Their rationale? Avoiding needless duplication that would complicate the Justice/CIA IG "preliminary" inquiry into the tape destruction:
Based upon our review of the Committee's requests to date, we believe our inquiry will encompass the same documents and witnesses. Our ability to obtain the most reliable and complete information would likely be jeopardized if the CIA undertakes the steps necessary to respond to your requests in a comprehensive fashion at this time. This includes requests for interviews with [Inspector General's office employees], which the DOJ has determined to be problematic because they are potential witnesses in the matter under our inquiry.
What's missing from that explanation? Oh yeah -- an explanation of how the House inquiry would actually jeopardize the DOJ/CIA IG probe.
How can you pretend not to know when someone else has the same information?
It will make it much tougher to claim ignorance when someone can say "you got this same info and it's right here".
December 17, 2007 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
It is very easy to make two copies of requested information rather than just one copy.
It is much more difficult to support a coverup if there are other people looking at the same information and drawing more accurate inferences and conclusions.
December 17, 2007 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
efinnpissed wrote on December 17, 2007 11:53 AM:
Rodriguez is going to fall on the sword and claim he acted independantly, Bush will pardon him, and we'll all be left standing here like the Dem pussies we've become.
Get used to it...
we're fucked.
December 17, 2007 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Aha, the "duplicate investigations" meme. Such a lovely double standard.
Remember when the White House Security Office opted not to investigate leaks of classified information (as it was mandated to do) during the Plame case because they didn't want to compromise Pat Fitzgerald's investigation?
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/16/white-house-plame-leak/
Yet both Congress and the Administration can doubly investigate things like Congressman Jefferson's interest in icebox money?
December 17, 2007 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
"We are the unitary executive branch. The legislative branch is redundant and quaint."
December 17, 2007 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is time to consider whether the basic social contract between this government and the people has been irrevocably broken. The Democrat party has proven itself either unwilling or incapable of following the mandate of change entrusted to it by the people. A super majority of the people of this nation view the president as incompetent and a liar. The approval of Congress is even worse because of its failure to control Bush.
It is time to consider whether this government should be dissolved, the criminals called to account and the a new form of government installed.
December 17, 2007 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
FUCK THESE DOJ BUSH BITCHES.Replace everyone of these clowns.Undercover bush ass-lickers.By the way FUCH BUSH--THE ASSCLOWN OF AMERICA.Wake the fuck up people.
December 17, 2007 5:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
FUCK THESE DOJ BUSH BITCHES.Replace everyone of these clowns.Undercover bush ass-lickers.By the way FUCH BUSH--THE ASSCLOWN OF AMERICA.Wake the fuck up people.
December 17, 2007 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, the Senate and the House put up with AG AG for more than eight months of lying and direct perjury, suborning, etc. Why not just drag the torture video investigation out til the drool gathers in pools at the base of the Capitol? Why not? And that's what's happening, folks are breaking laws, showing utter contempt for due process, legal proceedings, etc. So, why bother to have an impeachment...when the leadership of the Congress is so craven that all they do is point fingers but don't actually know or care how to clean up the rot?
December 17, 2007 7:39 PM | Reply | Permalink