Judge Orders Hearing on Destroyed CIA Tapes

Federal court will not abide by DoJ's wishes
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2007 1:25 PM CST
Judge Orders Hearing on Destroyed CIA Tapes
Attorney David Remes speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington in this Dec. 5, 2007 file photo. The Bush administration was under court order not to discard evidence of detainee torture and abuse months before the CIA destroyed videotapes that revealed some of its harshest interrogation...   (Associated Press)

A federal judge scheduled a hearing today to address whether the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes violated a court order, the Washington Post reports. The order—issued with no comment—is a blow to the Justice Department, which has launched a probe with the CIA and contends the federal courts don't have jurisdiction.

Justice has asked Congress to back off while the joint inquiry is under way. District Judge Henry Kennedy, who scheduled the hearing for Friday, issued an order in mid-2005 to preserve interrogation records as part of an ongoing lawsuit by Guantanamo Bay detainees. The tapes were destroyed in November 2005; Justice says there’s no proof the videos were made at Gitmo. (More CIA stories.)

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