By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it won’t file criminal charges over the destruction by CIA workers of 92 videotapes showing harsh interrogation techniques of terrorism suspects.
“In January 2008, Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed Assistant United States Attorney John Durham to investigate the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations,” Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“Since that time, a team of prosecutors and FBI agents led by Mr. Durham has conducted an exhaustive investigation into the matter. As a result of that investigation, Mr. Durham has concluded that he will not pursue criminal charges for the destruction of the interrogation videotapes.”
The tapes were burned in November 2005 at the direction of a CIA official.
The Washington Post reported that authorities had not ruled out the possibility of filing criminal charges against officials who may have misled investigators during the probe.
