Justice Dept. opens criminal probe in CIA tapes case

The disclosure last month that the CIA had destroyed two such tapes in 2005 -- which included footage of harsh interrogation methods -- touched off a political and legal firestorm. The Justice Department and the CIA Office of the Inspector General had been conducting a preliminary inquiry in the wake of those disclosures to see whether there was evidence of potential crimes, and whether a formal investigation should be pursued.

"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, and I have taken steps to begin that investigation," Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey said in a prepared statement, adding that he had appointed John Durham, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to oversee the investigation.

Investigations of the CIA are normally overseen by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Mukasey said the office was recused from investigating the tapes matter. He said that the move was to avoid the possible appearance of a conflict "with other matters handled by that office" but did not elaborate.

Though the opening of an investigation does not mean that criminal charges will necessarily follow, it does raise the stakes for the agency and its employees who were either involved in or had knowledge of the tapes incident.

The tapes were destroyed in late 2005 at the direction of Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then-chief of the agency's clandestine service. Several administration lawyers have reportedly said they were involved in discussions concerning the tapes but recommended that they be preserved. Some officials have said that the tapes were destroyed in order to protect the identity of undercover CIA operatives who were involved in questioning the suspects.

The issue has inflamed members of Congress who at the time were seeking to put limits on harsh interrogation techniques by the CIA, including one known as water-boarding. Defense lawyers for military detainees have said that the existence of the tapes could help their clients by showing that the government obtained unreliable evidence against them through coercion.

The Justice Department had asked congressional leaders to put off their own investigations into the destruction of the tapes pending the criminal probe. The Senate Intelligence Committee has set a hearing for Jan. 16 and has subpoenaed Rodriguez.

CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson said today that he had decided to recuse himself from the investigation in light of the decision to move ahead with a criminal probe. Helgerson was involved in reviewing the tapes as part of an internal probe a few years ago.

"During the coming weeks I anticipate describing fully the actions I and my office took on this matter to investigators from the executive and legislative branches," Helgerson said. "It is important to avoid the conflict of interest that surely would arise if I were also involved in the ongoing investigation."

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said that the agency would cooperate fully with the investigation.

rick.schmitt@latimes.com