The U.S. government refused on Monday to comment on the Central Investigation Agency (CIA)'s destroying interrogation tapes of two terrorism suspects.
The case is undergoing a joint inquiry by the Justice Department and the CIA's internal watchdog before determining whether to warrant a full investigation.
Before the inquiry is concluded, the White House counsels' office advised senior government officials to take no-comment policy on the case.
"Until that process works itself out, I'm going to adhere to their request," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters. "I think that that's appropriate, and I'll adhere to it."
However, Perino repeated that President George W. Bush had no recollection of being briefed on the tapes existence or destruction until he was told last week following related media reports.
In a letter to CIA employees explaining the issue, CIA Director Michael Hayden insisted that the tapes that were made in 2002 were destroyed "in line with the law" three years later in an effort to protect the safety of interrogators and their families.
However, Bush's Democratic critics and human rights groups denounced destruction of tapes as an attempt to cover up interrogation practices that were widely seen as torture.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article