Justice to "investigate" CIA tape destruction
Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced today that he has initiated an investigation into potential criminal wrongdoing by the CIA in its destruction of video tapes which showed the torture of detainees by US personnel:
"Following a preliminary inquiry into the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations, the Department's National Security Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter," Mukasey said in a statement this afternoon.
Mukasey appointed John Durham of the Connecticut US Attorney's office to lead the investigation; Durham seems to have a solid history as an aggressive prosecutor (see here for Durham's background). Then again, so did Patrick Fitzgerald, and his investigation ended with stonewalling and obstruction of justice by the Bush White House, which resulted in no tangible consequences for anyone involved.
The chairmen of the 9/11 Commission wrote in today's New York Times that the CIA's refusal to turn over these interrogation tapes constituted obstruction of the commission's congressionally mandated work, but this won't matter in the long run. Durham might actually end up with enough evidence to indict someone at the CIA over the destruction of these tapes (my guess is that Jose Rodriguez will be made to take the fall, since he's the CIA official who ordered the destruction of the tapes), but none of this will matter. Bush will almost certainly pardon any indicted persons sometime after the 2008 presidential election.
I'd bet money on it.