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Shame on Holder and Panetta for Not Going after CIA Destruction of Torture Evidence
If you've been a cynic all along, you win again.
I'm referring to the decision this week by the Justice Department not
to go after a senior official of the CIA who ordered the destruction of
dozens of videotapes of the torture of terrorism suspects.
Remember, this wasn't a low-level operative of the CIA going off on some rogue mission.
Nov 11, 2010
If you've been a cynic all along, you win again.
I'm referring to the decision this week by the Justice Department not
to go after a senior official of the CIA who ordered the destruction of
dozens of videotapes of the torture of terrorism suspects.
Remember, this wasn't a low-level operative of the CIA going off on some rogue mission.
This was the guy who, at the time, was head of the agency's
clandestine service. His name is Jose Rodriguez, and he ordered his
staff to destroy the visual evidence, which included a taping of a
detainee being waterboarded.
Rodriguez's lawyer calls him "a hero and a patriot." I call him a criminal and a creep.
And the Justice Department a bunch of cowards. Attorney General Eric Holder should be ashamed of himself.
At his confirmation hearings, he told Senator Patrick Leahy:
"If you look at the history of the use of that technique used by the
Khmer Rouge, used in the inquisition, used by the Japanese and
prosecuted by us as war crimes, we prosecuted our own soldiers in
Vietnam, I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, waterboarding is torture." He
added: "No one is above the law," said Holder.
But that was then.
Leon Panetta, another "good Democrat," who is the director of the
CIA, should also be ashamed of himself. He says he's "pleased with the
decision."
But how can you be pleased with the decision if you believe that we
live in a democracy where the rule of law is applied equally?
Obviously, we don't live in such a democracy.
You can torture someone and you can willfully destroy evidence, and
you can get away with it, so long as you're in the Executive Branch.
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© 2023 The Progressive
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
If you've been a cynic all along, you win again.
I'm referring to the decision this week by the Justice Department not
to go after a senior official of the CIA who ordered the destruction of
dozens of videotapes of the torture of terrorism suspects.
Remember, this wasn't a low-level operative of the CIA going off on some rogue mission.
This was the guy who, at the time, was head of the agency's
clandestine service. His name is Jose Rodriguez, and he ordered his
staff to destroy the visual evidence, which included a taping of a
detainee being waterboarded.
Rodriguez's lawyer calls him "a hero and a patriot." I call him a criminal and a creep.
And the Justice Department a bunch of cowards. Attorney General Eric Holder should be ashamed of himself.
At his confirmation hearings, he told Senator Patrick Leahy:
"If you look at the history of the use of that technique used by the
Khmer Rouge, used in the inquisition, used by the Japanese and
prosecuted by us as war crimes, we prosecuted our own soldiers in
Vietnam, I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, waterboarding is torture." He
added: "No one is above the law," said Holder.
But that was then.
Leon Panetta, another "good Democrat," who is the director of the
CIA, should also be ashamed of himself. He says he's "pleased with the
decision."
But how can you be pleased with the decision if you believe that we
live in a democracy where the rule of law is applied equally?
Obviously, we don't live in such a democracy.
You can torture someone and you can willfully destroy evidence, and
you can get away with it, so long as you're in the Executive Branch.
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
If you've been a cynic all along, you win again.
I'm referring to the decision this week by the Justice Department not
to go after a senior official of the CIA who ordered the destruction of
dozens of videotapes of the torture of terrorism suspects.
Remember, this wasn't a low-level operative of the CIA going off on some rogue mission.
This was the guy who, at the time, was head of the agency's
clandestine service. His name is Jose Rodriguez, and he ordered his
staff to destroy the visual evidence, which included a taping of a
detainee being waterboarded.
Rodriguez's lawyer calls him "a hero and a patriot." I call him a criminal and a creep.
And the Justice Department a bunch of cowards. Attorney General Eric Holder should be ashamed of himself.
At his confirmation hearings, he told Senator Patrick Leahy:
"If you look at the history of the use of that technique used by the
Khmer Rouge, used in the inquisition, used by the Japanese and
prosecuted by us as war crimes, we prosecuted our own soldiers in
Vietnam, I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, waterboarding is torture." He
added: "No one is above the law," said Holder.
But that was then.
Leon Panetta, another "good Democrat," who is the director of the
CIA, should also be ashamed of himself. He says he's "pleased with the
decision."
But how can you be pleased with the decision if you believe that we
live in a democracy where the rule of law is applied equally?
Obviously, we don't live in such a democracy.
You can torture someone and you can willfully destroy evidence, and
you can get away with it, so long as you're in the Executive Branch.
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