Is CIA Director Michael Hayden Lying About When The Agency Stopped Videotaping Interrogations?
Is CIA Director Michael Hayden Lying About When The Agency Stopped Videotaping Interrogations?
Last week, in his letter to CIA employees informing them of the destruction of videotapes featuring interrogations, CIA director Michael Hayden claimed that “videotaping stopped in 2002.” Hayden said the agency “determined that its documentary reporting was full and exacting, removing any need for tapes.”
But the videotaping may not have actually stopped in 2002. The New York Times reports today that “a lawyer representing a former prisoner,” Muhammad Bashmilah, “who said he was held by the C.I.A. said the prisoner saw cameras in interrogation rooms after 2002“:
Meg Satterthwaite, a director of the International Human Rights Clinic at New York University who is representing Mr. Bashmilah in a lawsuit, said Mr. Bashmilah described cameras both in his cells and in interrogation rooms, some on tripods and some on the wall. She said his descriptions of his imprisonment, in hours of conversation in Yemen and by phone this year, were lucid and detailed.
According to an Amnesty International report, Bashmilah was detained in October 2003 and was transfered nearly a year later to a “detention facility run by US officials, apparently underground.” Bashmilah told Amnesty that there were “surveillance cameras in the cells.” He was released in May 2005.
CIA spokesperson Paul Gimigliano refused to comment on Bashmilah’s claims, telling the New York Times only that “he had nothing to add” to Hayden’s previous statements.
In November, a court filing revealed that “the CIA has three video and audio recordings of interrogations of senior al Qaida captives” that it had previously refused to disclose, but it is unclear when those recordings were made.
It’s possible that the cameras Bashmilah saw weren’t actually recording anything, but if they were, it would mean that Hayden was not being truthful when he said that “videotaping stopped in 2002.”
UPDATE: Spencer Ackerman comments: “The CIA lied for years about the existence of videotaped interrogations, so there’s no reason to credit Hayden’s account of when the recordings ceased.”
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50 Responses to “Is CIA Director Michael Hayden Lying About When The Agency Stopped Videotaping Interrogations?”
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Is that a trick question?
December 11th, 2007 at 12:11 pmIs he lying?
Two words:
OF COURSE.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:15 pmLIARS, LIARS, ALL THEIR PANTS ON FIRES
December 11th, 2007 at 12:15 pm“videotaping stopped in 2002.â€
after that, they went digital
December 11th, 2007 at 12:16 pmI don’t think anyone is going to outdo that comment, Juan. The perfect #1.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:16 pmIf they told the truth, who would believe them anyway?
December 11th, 2007 at 12:16 pmThis administration doesn’t know how to do anything other than lie.
It’s what they do.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:17 pmEvery video, and even digital file has a timestamp embedded to show when it was made. It’s easy to find out if you can get an original copy.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:17 pmOff topic:
Zoo. :)
December 11th, 2007 at 12:19 pmHey Wayne, been missing you. :)
December 11th, 2007 at 12:19 pmHi Juan. :)
December 11th, 2007 at 12:19 pmHey Wayne, been missing you. :)
Comment by Zooey — December 11, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
Been busy at work, lots of manditory overtime the last month.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:21 pmFeeling like the guy in that old Dunkin Donuts commercial, where he meets himself comming in the door, lol
where he meets himself comming in the door, lol
Comment by Wayne
Ha!
December 11th, 2007 at 12:22 pmAll statements from the WH are just bush-it!!!
It’s scandal after scandal, after scandal.
And NO IMPEACHMENT? How come?
What Nixon did was NOTHING compared to what Lunatic Dubia and Schrinking Dick have done!
And we don’t know the whole story yet… It unfolds every day a little
December 11th, 2007 at 12:22 pmWhat Nixon did was NOTHING compared to what Lunatic Dubia and Schrinking Dick have done!
And we don’t know the whole story yet… It unfolds every day a little
Comment by drtichy — December 11, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
Crimes, crimes everywhere and not one Impeachment in sight……
December 11th, 2007 at 12:26 pmYes, they are telling the truth. They switchjed from video-tape to digital recordings in 2002.
See, they are being honest!
-GSD
December 11th, 2007 at 12:26 pmGeorge W. Pinochiochet-a lying dictator.
-GSD
December 11th, 2007 at 12:28 pmPerhaps they were dvrs–digital video recorders. So using Bushie semantics they would be telling the truth–the videotaping stopped in 2002 but they were digitally recording thereafter.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:28 pmGSD…you beat me to it!
December 11th, 2007 at 12:28 pmI think the point is being missed somehow in all this discussion about the cameras on tripods or on walls.
Maybe a dumb analogy will explain me better:
If someone tortures somebody in the middle of the woods and nobody listens, is this still wrong?
December 11th, 2007 at 12:28 pm“With Liberty and Justce for ** all.”
**Offer not available in all areas. Prices subject to change without notice.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pmBush reminds me of the guy Jon Lovitz played in SNL; habitual liar.
Lovitz would say something stupid, think about it a moment, and then say, ‘yeah, that’s right, it was’…
Making shit up as you go is hardly responsible public policy.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pmThere are no waters in Casablanca…
Apparently I was misinformed…
December 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pmOff course the CIA is lying!!!! They are lying when they say the “USA does not torture”. They have been torturing people and teaching military personel of other countries to torture since the beguining of their existence! Just check with any one that has lived in any country of South America OR cENTRAL AMERICA that had a military dictatorship imposed on them (that is most of the Continent!). Ask the director of the CIA information on CIA’s operation in BRAZIL, CHILE, ARGENTINA, URUGUAY, PARAGUAY, BOLIVIA. Better still, ask him about NICARAGUA!!!!That is a “Classical” example on how the USA has destroyed a DEMOCRACY, how the USA has financed paramilitary terrorist milicias to destroy a DEMOCRACY, and how the CIA helped to TORTURE its people! If he denies it, ask NEGROPONTE, THAT FACIST ANIMAL IS “HELPING” THE USA WITH IRAQ NOW!
December 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pmBush traitors doing what they do best: covering up Bush regime treason: destroying incriminating videos, deleting millions of incriminating Emails and shredding tons of incriminating documents…
December 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pmRemember the rightwing mantra about the evils of ‘moral relativism’?
Now the US has been reduced to the following relativism.
“At least we don’t chop off peoples heads!”
-GSD
December 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pmBoring thread - How would anyone know if a CIA Director was lying. (likely he is, nonetheless, we’re not going to prove or disprove it, and neither will Congress)
this is as fruitful as a discussion of how many angels fit on the head of a pin.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:37 pm25 - actually we prefer less humane methods of capital punishment.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:38 pmGillespie cartoon
December 11th, 2007 at 12:38 pm26… we allow waterboarding in this country. Perhaps that could shed some light on the matter.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pmGSD…you beat me to it!
Comment by Menehune — December 11, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
see 4 :-)
December 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pmThe irony of waterboading the truth out of Michael Hayden hasn’t been equalled since they hauled Robespierre to the guillotine.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:41 pmOf course the CIA is lying. What else more can you say?
If you go through the trouble of torturing someone are you really not going to document the information you are trying to extract from them?
December 11th, 2007 at 12:41 pm#30…everyone is now parsing Bushspeak like a pro! They will have to start speaking in Pig-latin or omething-say.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:43 pmSince someone in the administration has already been convicted of obstruction of justice, they had to up the ante. Now the challenge is to lie about destruction of evidence, hence DEstruction of justice without being held accountable.
The lies have become so blatant that there must be some sort of ‘office pool’ to see who can get off from the most dispicable lies with the least consequences.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:45 pm,
What CIA interrogation/torture tapes?
If the CIA says they don’t record their sessions and then destroy the tapes, does that make them correct?
.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:46 pm.
26 Comment by tombaker — December 11, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
I was thinking more along the lines of:
IF A TREE FELL IN A FOREST AND NO ONE WAS THERE TO HEAR IT…
… If a torture session occurred and no one was able to see it, did it happen?
.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pm38. No, Frank. It ultimately leads to the restoration of the republic.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:06 pmFrank thinks it’s better for a person to have their fingernails pulled out by an American than by an Egyptian. How very patriotic of you, Frank.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:06 pmFrank ‘N Um,
Outsourcing of information?
Give us a break. We’ve outsourced our collective soul to Hell & back since W became the Chimp ‘N Chief. From manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, American has been outsourced. Now we’re paying the price.
Why do you think the CIA flew detainees to ‘black hole’ prisons in Eastern & Southern Europe? To knock down a few cold ones?
This ‘With Hunt’ should lead right to the front door at 1600 Penn Av.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:06 pmWATERBOARD FRANK!
December 11th, 2007 at 1:15 pmunlike the truncheons, blowtorches, battery acid and pliers of the 3rd world interrogators.
Comment by Frank M — December 11, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
3rd world interrogators that we pay cash to do the work we deem too dirty. but since they do it for us, we’re not responsible for it, right?
note: see “rendition flights”, “black sites”
December 11th, 2007 at 1:16 pmDUBLIN, Dec 11 – The Irish Government must inspect all aircraft it suspects of carrying US terror suspects through the country’s airspace, Irelands human rights watchdog said here Tuesday.
The Irish Cabinet has always insisted it accepts high-level assurances from the US administration that extraordinary rendition flights were not passing through Ireland.
But in a report today, the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) called for urgent legislation to authorise inspections of aircraft alleged to be carrying hostages to secret interrogation camps elsewhere.
It also demanded a police station to be based at Shannon Airport, where many US military flights stop to refuel.
The report, entitled “Extraordinary Rendition: A Review of Ireland’s Human Rights Obligations,” declared that US diplomatic assurances are no longer sufficient to satisfy Ireland’s human rights obligations.
THE WORLD SHOULD FOLLOW SUIT
December 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pmWELL DONE IRELAND!
December 11th, 2007 at 1:27 pmFrank need to be reminded of the GENEVA CONVENTION! BUSH & CHENNEY HAGE 09!
December 11th, 2007 at 1:31 pmHANDCUFF BUSH AND CHENEY, SEND RICE AND RUMSFELD ON A RENDITION FLIGHT AND WOLFOWITZ AND PERLE TO 3 MONTHS DETENTION IN GUANTANAMO. WATERBOARD TEHM ALL! THEM WATERBOARD MUKASEY! PLEASE DON’T FORGET GONZO TOO!
December 11th, 2007 at 1:35 pm“Ohh, you mean Those cameras”
December 11th, 2007 at 1:43 pm#40: Our interrogations may be harsh, but they don’t lead to bodily harm - unlike the truncheons, blowtorches, battery acid and pliers of the 3rd world interrogators.
Comment by Frank M — December 11, 2007 @ 1:11 pm
And you know this how? I remember seeing a picture of a prisoner dead in an ice pack. He had been “interrogated” to death.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:45 pmIf you weren’t playing with our national security here by hindering the war on terror, it would be funny to watch how you keep trying to turn this non-issue into a political weapon.
Comment by Frank M — December 11, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
Sure. Torture and a complete disregard for the Geneva Convention is such a non-issue.
Riiiiiight.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:02 pmFrank needs to undergo waterboarding, put on the rack, and have hot coals and thumbscrews applied to him.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:20 pm