Bush Says Little About Destroyed CIA Tapes
President Vows to 'Reserve Judgment'
Washington Post | December 21, 2007
By Peter Baker and Joby Warrick
President Bush declined to say yesterday whether he thinks the CIA acted responsibly by destroying videotapes of harsh interrogations, fending off questions even as a House committee accelerated its investigation and subpoenaed the agency official who reportedly ordered the destruction.
"I'm going to reserve judgment until I find out the full facts," Bush said at a news conference where he was asked about the episode for the first time. Noting the multiple investigations now opened, he added: "Until these inquiries are complete, until the oversights are finished, then I will be rendering no opinion from the podium."
Bush's remarks came as sources disclosed that another government lawyer argued strongly against destroying the tapes. Scott Muller, who was appointed CIA general counsel in 2002, was the agency's top legal expert when White House officials were receiving initial briefings about the existence of the tapes, and he opposed their destruction until his departure in late 2004, two officials familiar with the discussions said yesterday.
CIA Director Michael V. Hayden told lawmakers privately last week that three White House lawyers also urged the agency to be "cautious" about destroying the tapes, which recorded harsh interrogations of two al-Qaeda figures and were ultimately destroyed in 2005, said sources familiar with the classified testimony. Another source said that a fourth White House lawyer, Bush's friend Harriet E. Miers, followed up with similar advice in 2005.
The House intelligence committee moved yesterday to dig deeper into what happened to the tapes. Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.) said the panel subpoenaed Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the CIA's former director of operations, who is said to have made the decision to destroy the tapes. "We have been told that Mr. Rodriguez would like to tell his story but his counsel has advised us that a subpoena would be necessary," Reyes said.
The panel was in discussions with CIA officials to secure testimony from John A. Rizzo, the CIA's current general counsel. The committee also wants to hear from four other CIA lawyers -- Steven Hermes, Robert J. Eatinger, Elizabeth Voigt and John McPherson -- as well as the unidentified CIA officials in charge of the secret overseas prison where the interrogations took place. Also in the panel's sights are Muller, former CIA directors George J. Tenet and Porter J. Goss, and James L. Pavittt, former deputy director of operations.
Committee aides spent hours at CIA headquarters poring through documents related to the investigation. CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said the agency would be "as forthcoming as possible," adding: "It's a priority and we intend to move forward on all fronts."
Bush revealed nothing new about White House involvement yesterday. Bush, repeating what his spokeswoman said last week, said he did not recall being told anything about the tapes' destruction until Hayden briefed him recently. Bush rejected the idea that he is being ambiguous by not more flatly denying any knowledge. "It sounds pretty clear to me," he said.
But Bush used a question about international criticism of the case to describe opponents of his policies as isolationists: "Look, we get criticized a lot for a variety of reasons. We're asking people to do hard things, for starters, which is intercept and find terrorists and to spread freedom. And there's isolationist tendencies in this world. People would rather stay at home. People would rather not aggressively pursue people overseas and aggressively pursue freedom, I understand that. We got people like that in our own country."
