Judge demands to know why CIA tapes trashed

A federal judge said Thursday that CIA interrogation videotapes may have been relevant to a case he’s presiding over, and he gave the Bush administration three weeks to explain why they were destroyed in 2005 and say whether other evidence was destroyed.

Several judges are considering wading into the dispute over the videos, but U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts was the first to demand a written report on the matter. The order is a legal setback for the Bush administration, which has urged courts not to get involved.

The tapes showed harsh interrogation tactics used by CIA officers questioning Al Qaeda suspects Abu Zubaydah and Abd al Rahim al Nashiri in 2002. The Justice Department and Congress are investigating the destruction of the tapes.

When they were destroyed, the government was under various court orders to retain evidence relevant to terrorism suspects at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After it became public in December that the tapes had been destroyed, lawyers for several detainees went to court demanding to know more.

“There’s enough there that it’s worth asking” whether other videos or documents were also destroyed, said attorney Charles H. Carpenter. “I don’t know the answer to that question, but the government does know the answer, and now they have to tell Judge Roberts.”

The Justice Department has warned that a judicial inquiry could jeopardize the criminal investigation.