Rep. Harman warned CIA in '03 not to destroy tapes

WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the House intelligence committee warned in a 2003 letter that destroying videotapes of detainee interrogations would put the CIA under a cloud of suspicion, according to a newly declassified copy of the letter.

"Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future," Rep. Jane Harman (D., Calif.) wrote in a Feb. 10, 2003, letter to then-CIA general counsel Scott Muller. "The fact of destruction would reflect badly on the agency."

Harman's office released the declassified letter yesterday, a day after the Justice Department announced it had opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of the tapes. The letter notes that a copy also went to then-CIA Director George Tenet.

Last month, the CIA acknowledged destroying videos showing the harsh interrogation of two top al-Qaeda suspects, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said the videos, which were made in 2002, were destroyed in 2005 out of fear the tapes would leak and reveal the identities of interrogators. Hayden said the sessions were videotaped to provide an added layer of legal protection for officers using tough interrogation methods authorized by President Bush to help break down recalcitrant prisoners.

Harman's letter, sent when memories of the Sept. 11 attacks were still fresh, acknowledges that the CIA was faced with balancing security and liberty while protecting the country from another attack.

But in a reference to the harsh interrogations, she asked Muller "whether the most senior levels of the White House have determined that these practices are consistent with the principles and policies of the United States. Have enhanced techniques been authorized and approved by the president?"

In his response to Harman's letter, Muller did not address her concerns about destroying the tapes. Instead, he reassured her that the interrogation techniques used were legal.

The CIA declassified Harman's 2003 letter so she could speak publicly about her concerns. At the time, Harman was the senior Democrat on the intelligence committee. She was one of several officials - including Alberto R. Gonzales, who served as White House counsel and then attorney general - who recommended against destroying the tapes.

The House intelligence committee has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 16 to question Jose Rodriguez, former head of the CIA's National Clandestine Service who ordered the tapes destroyed, and acting CIA general counsel John Rizzo.