Glenn Greenwald: 9/11 Commission: Our investigation was "obstructed"

[babylonsister]

Glenn Greenwald
Wednesday January 2, 2008 08:12 EST
9/11 Commission: Our investigation was "obstructed"

(*** Updated below - Outside prosecutor appointed

Update II - Update III - Update IV - Update V)

The bi-partisan co-chairmen of the 9/11 Commission, Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, jointly published an Op-Ed in today's New York Times which contains some extremely emphatic and serious accusations against the CIA and the White House. The essence:

{T}he recent revelations that the C.I.A. destroyed videotaped interrogations of Qaeda operatives leads us to conclude that the agency failed to respond to our lawful requests for information about the 9/11 plot. Those who knew about those videotapes -- and did not tell us about them -- obstructed our investigation.

More strikingly still, they explicitly include the White House at the top of their list of guilty parties:

There could have been absolutely no doubt in the mind of anyone at the C.I.A. -- or the White House -- of the commission's interest in any and all information related to Qaeda detainees involved in the 9/11 plot. Yet no one in the administration ever told the commission of the existence of videotapes of detainee interrogations.

To underscore the seriousness of their accusations, Keane and Hamilton end with this:

What we do know is that government officials decided not to inform a lawfully constituted body, created by Congress and the president, to investigate one the (sic) greatest tragedies to confront this country. We call that obstruction.

It's hard to imagine a more serious scandal than this. As I noted the other day, it is a confirmed fact that Alberto Gonzales and David Addingtion -- the top legal representatives of George Bush and Dick Cheney, respectively -- participated in discussions as to whether those videotapes should be destroyed. The White House refuses to disclose what these top officials said in those meetings. Did they instruct that the videos should be destroyed or fail to oppose their destruction? The NYT previously quoted one "senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said there had been 'vigorous sentiment' among some top White House officials to destroy the tapes."

Thus, we have evidence that "top White House officials" vigorously argued that these videos should be destroyed. The number one aides to both the President and Vice President both participated in discussions as to whether they should be, almost certainly with the knowledge and at the direction of their bosses.

And now we have the 9/11 Commission Chairmen stating as explicitly as can be that the mere concealment (let alone destruction) of these videos constituted the knowing and deliberate obstruction of their investigation into the worst attack on U.S. soil in our history. Combined with the fact that the videos' destruction almost certainly constitutes "obstruction of justice" with regard to numerous judicial proceedings as well, we're talking here about extremely serious felonies at the highest levels of our government.

more...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/02/obstruction/index.html

[Vincardog]

1. we have been talking here about extremely serious felonies at the highest levels of our government.

For over 7 years. Are you new here?

[babylonsister]

2. Are you talking to me, Greenwald, or the guys who wrote the op ed? nt

[Vincardog]

3. the guys who wrote the op ed

[panader0]

4. All of these things point to 9/11...

What did the admin know, when did they know it, and how much did they have to do with it? WHY< WHY <WHY would they cover up so much so often?????????

[babylonsister]

6. Yes. Who knows what info was tortured out of this prisoner? It

must have been too dangerous for someone, be it in our admin, the Saudis, whomever. What are they hiding?

[TheDebbieDee]

5. Duh! Everybody here at DU knew that as the Commission

was still investigating.

But, those gullible bastards let the * admin talk them into issuing a report based on incomplete information before the '04 Election.

The only leverage those Commission numbskulls ever had (with regard to getting documents and information about the WH response to the events of 9/11) was the contents of the final report itself.

Those jokers let themselves be roped into asking pussified questions of those that appeared before their panel and then finally issuing a watered-down report based on repuke fantasy.

It's too late losers! The time to press for information was then - NOT NOW!

And now you Commission members aren't worth the time of day........Cause now you can't parlay the time spent on that commission into a political appointment.

[babylonsister]

7. No, I'm glad they're so angry, angry enough to get Mukasey to take

some action. We'll see where that leads.

[gratuitous]

8. And Kean and Hamilton are surprised . . . why?

I mean, they let administration officials testify without being sworn in, and even let Bush and Cheney appear in executive session together. NOW they're telling us that their investigation was obstructed? Are they including their own inept investigation that made the Keystone Kops look like the very soul of probity in their list of obstructors? Because any first year recruit at the police academy could have told them what's going to happen when you question witnesses en masse.

Dunderheads.

[Fridays Child]

9. Exactly, and their op-ed is just a CYA exercise.

[stubtoe]

10. K&R

kickaroonie, keep this ball in the air