DOJ to House Intel: We Don’t Need No DuplicationAs 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.