Terrorism
Judge Gives CIA 10 Days to Persuade Him Not to Issue Contempt Citation
Posted Aug 19, 2008, 11:59 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A federal judge says he will give government lawyers 10 days to explain why he should not hold the CIA in contempt of court for destroying interrogation videotapes of al-Qaida detainees.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of New York is considering whether the destruction of the tapes violated a court order, the New York Law Journal reports. After 10 days he will rule on contempt and decide whether to order the CIA to produce a list of the tapes, information on witnesses and other documents.
Hellerstein said he would order the CIA to produce the list and documents unless lawyers could persuade him it would interfere with a criminal investigation, the Associated Press reports. The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking the information in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
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Comments
Posted by J.D. - 3 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 53 minutes ago
A Clinton appointee, for the record.
Posted by PoliticalSmartActionRequiresXalls - 3 months, 2 weeks, 10 hours, 19 minutes ago
Politics and ball playing, but real solving of USA problems requires balls, to handle matters.
War and clean sucks. Some leaders are given the resposibility of ugly situations.
I think the Judge is dealing with matters above their pay grade and necessity.
Politics is also about what we are stuck with…
Posted by Paul - 3 months, 2 weeks, 4 hours, 18 minutes ago
If U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of New York is considering whether the destruction of the tapes violated a court order, then he is doing what he was appointed to do, what he is paid to do, what he is sworn to do.
The Bush Adminstration cannot ignore the separation of powers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights just because Alberto Gonzalez and Dick Cheney think Presidential Prerogative should overrule every other consideration.
Knee jerk reactions seem to suggest that, if one actually believes in American principles of rule of law, one must be a traitor, unpatriotic, a fool who invites attacks, etc.
One would hope that attorneys would have a little more understanding of the principles at stake and the repercussions of unfettered presidential power.