CIA Destroys 92 Torture Interrogation Videotapes to Conceal Evidence

CIA National Clandestine Service director Jose Rodriguez orders the destruction of 92 videotapes documenting hundreds of hours of brutal interrogations of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri at secret CIA black sites. The tapes contain graphic evidence of waterboarding, stress positions, and other torture techniques that violate U.S. and international law. Rodriguez destroys the tapes despite objections from CIA and White House lawyers, and despite multiple ongoing investigations and court proceedings requiring preservation of evidence. The destruction represents deliberate obstruction of justice and an attempt to conceal war crimes.

The videotapes were created in 2002 at the CIA’s “Cat’s Eye” black site in Thailand, where Gina Haspel served as chief of base overseeing the torture of detainees. The recordings document Abu Zubaydah being waterboarded 83 times and subjected to other extreme torture that left him “completely unresponsive” with water bubbling from his mouth. The tapes also capture al-Nashiri’s torture, including waterboarding and stress positions so severe that a medical officer warned his shoulders would be dislocated. The videotapes represent the most direct and irrefutable evidence of CIA torture.

By November 2005, preservation of the tapes is legally required due to multiple factors: the ongoing Jose Padilla terrorism prosecution where interrogation methods are relevant; the 9/11 Commission’s explicit request for all interrogation records; congressional inquiries into CIA detention practices; and pending ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuits seeking torture-related documents. CIA lawyers warn Rodriguez that destroying the tapes could constitute obstruction of justice. White House counsel also advises against destruction. Rodriguez proceeds anyway, working with his chief of staff Gina Haspel to draft the cable authorizing destruction and obtaining approval from CIA lawyers at the Counterterrorism Center.

The destruction remains secret until December 2007, when the CIA is forced to acknowledge it publicly after The New York Times learns of the tapes’ existence and destruction. The revelation prompts criminal investigations by the Justice Department and CIA Inspector General. Attorney General Michael Mukasey appoints federal prosecutor John Durham to investigate potential obstruction of justice. Senator Dick Durbin calls for investigating whether the destruction amounts to criminal evidence tampering and concealment of war crimes.

Amnesty International declares the destruction “amounts to obstruction of justice and concealment of evidence” of torture and other crimes under international law. Despite clear evidence of deliberate evidence destruction during active legal proceedings, no one is ever prosecuted. Rodriguez faces no consequences and defends his actions in a memoir. Gina Haspel, who helped facilitate the destruction, is promoted to CIA Station Chief and eventually becomes CIA Director under President Trump in 2018. The destruction of the torture tapes exemplifies the impunity enjoyed by CIA officials who committed and concealed war crimes, ensuring that the most graphic evidence of the torture program is permanently erased.