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Congressional Democrats demanded Friday that the Justice Department
investigate why the CIA destroyed videotapes of the interrogation of
two terrorism suspects.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said President George W. Bush
didn't recall being told about the tapes or their destruction. But she
didn't rule out White House involvement, saying she hadn't asked others
about it.
CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said he planned to brief the House and Senate intelligence committees as soon as possible.
Among reactions:
• Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., accused the CIA of a cover-up. "We
haven't seen anything like this since the 18 1/2 -minute gap in the
tapes of President Richard Nixon," he said.
• Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said
the CIA's explanation that the tapes were destroyed to protect the
identity of agents is "a pathetic excuse," adding that "you'd have to
burn every document at the CIA that has the identity of an agent on it
under that theory."
• Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he wouldn't side with calls for an
investigation because he believed the CIA's actions were legal. "That
doesn't mean I like it," he added.
• Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., who headed the House Intelligence
Committee when the tapes were destroyed, disputed Hayden's claim that
Congress was told of the tapes and their destruction.
• Lee Hamilton, former cochairman of the 9/11 commission: "Did they
obstruct our inquiry? The answer is clearly yes. Whether that amounts
to a crime, others will have to judge."
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