Stop Covering Up My Coverup!
The CIA destroyed the tapes of the terrorist interrogations, (code word for torture sessions). Congress decides to investigate why the tapes were destroyed to see if it was a criminal act to coverup illegal torture.
Congress is also investigating what involvement the Justice Department had in the destruction of the tapes.
So the justice department launches an investigation and claims the congress is interfering with their investigation. The justice department wants to investigate it’s own involvement without interference from congress.
Confused yet?
Delay Is Sought by Justice Dept. on C.I.A. Inquiry
First let me comment on that headline. I can’t resist. If you shorten it to “Delay is Sought by Justice Department”, it would have applied to a headline that should have been published back in the Tom Delay case. What ever happened to that anyway?
Ok, back on topic to the story from the NYTimes
By DAVID JOHNSTON and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: December 15, 2007The Justice Department asked the House Intelligence Committee on Friday to postpone its investigation into the destruction of videotapes by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2005, saying the Congressional inquiry presented “significant risks” to its own preliminary investigation into the matter.
Significant risk of not covering it all up the same way the justice department will cover it up. Basically it’s like you and your friend getting caught at something and you want a chance to get your stories straight.
The department is taking an even harder line with other Congressional committees looking into the matter, and is refusing to provide information about any role it might have played in the destruction of the videotapes. The recordings covered hundreds of hours of interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda.
The Justice Department and the C.I.A.’s inspector general have begun a preliminary inquiry into the destruction of the tapes, and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said the department would not comply with Congressional requests for information now because of “our interest in avoiding any perception that our law enforcement decisions are subject to political influence.”
That last line has to be one of the funniest things I’ve read lately. No, we have no perception that politics influences the justice department at all. Especially after the illegal firing of state’s attorneys at the white house’s request. But of course that never happened either.
The lawmakers, Representative Silvestre Reyes, Democrat of Texas, and Representative Peter Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, threatened to issue subpoenas to get testimony and other information from the C.I.A. “There is no basis upon which the attorney general can stand in the way of our work,” they said.
Sure there is. On the basis that GW Bush is president and you are not allowed to question mein fuhrer and his administration about anything.
The exchanges came as Republicans in the Senate moved on Friday to strip language from a bill that would have prohibited the C.I.A. from using what the White House has called “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which allow the use of methods more aggressive than those permitted by other agencies. The House has approved a measure containing the prohibition, but the Senate action, together with a veto threat from President Bush, made it unlikely that it would become law.
Before any of you who support Bush answer or comment to this, ask yourself if you would be defending these actions if it were a democrat president. Think about the actual topics going on here and don’t just put your usual garbage in to defend King George at all costs. Give some real reasons you defend these actions, not just it must be right because george supports it.
Remember all of these powers you want to give george bush will soon be given to the next president. Do you trust Hilary Clinton or Barama with these same absolute powers?
Either that or continue to be served your cereal.
Stumble it!