Silent Acquiescence

By Creature

The latest from the NYT regarding the destroyed interrogation tapes is that the White House was in the legal loop for years, but just not when it counted.

The former intelligence official acknowledged that there had been nearly two years of debate among government agencies about what to do with the tapes, and that lawyers within the White House and the Justice Department had in 2003 advised against a plan to destroy them. But the official said that C.I.A. officials had continued to press the White House for a firm decision, and that the C.I.A. was never given a direct order not to destroy the tapes.

"They never told us, 'Hell, no,'" he said. "If somebody had said, 'You cannot destroy them,' we would not have destroyed them."

Of course, the White House wanted the tapes destroyed, and of course, they are trying to insulate themselves from any responsibility. It's classic Bush. When the mess gets ugly, bury your head and push the slop down the chain of command.

More from Drum, Attaturk, and Willis.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)