Who Knows How Far Mukasey May Peek under the Rug?
Criminal Probe on CIA Tapes Opened Case Assigned to Career Prosecutor
By Dan Eggen and Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, January 3, 2008; A01
The Justice Department said yesterday that it has opened a formal criminal investigation into the CIA's destruction of interrogation tapes, appointing a career prosecutor to examine whether intelligence officials broke the law by destroying videos of exceptionally harsh questioning of terrorism suspects.
The criminal probe, announced by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, significantly escalates a preliminary inquiry into whether the CIA's actions constituted an obstruction of justice. Officials have said that some White House and Justice Department lawyers advised the CIA not to destroy the tapes, which contained information of interest to the attorneys of detainees and to a congressionally chartered panel examining the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The decision opens the door to fresh scrutiny of the CIA's activities by th…