Biden: Appoint A Special Prosecutor In CIA Torture Tape Scandal.

Crooks and Liars:

Senator Joe Biden appeared on This Week today and made his positions on the CIA torture tape scandal very clear. Biden says he he not only thinks the destruction of the CIA tapes constitutes obstruction of justice, he believes the scandal goes straight to the White House. He also makes it clear that he doesn’t trust Attorney General Michael Mukasey and calls for an independent special prosecutor to take over the case.

Senator Biden also lays out some truth about Bush’s rhetoric on Iran and their now-defunct nuclear weapons program.

This sounds like dejavu all over again in the infamous 18 minute gap of the Nixon tapes. If folks remembered the missing minutes on the Nixon tapes scandal:

Nixon initially refused to release the tapes, claiming they were vital to national security. Then, on 19 October 1973, he offered to have U.S. Senator John C. Stennis review and summarize the tapes for the special prosecutor's office. Special Counsel Archibald Cox refused that same evening and on Saturday, October 20, 1973, Nixon ordered the Attorney General, Elliot Richardson to dismiss Cox. Richardson refused and resigned instead, as did Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Finally, Solicitor General Robert Bork discharged Cox.

Nixon appointed another special counsel, Leon Jaworski. The White House then agreed to comply with the subpoena and gave some of the subpoenaed conversations to Sirica. The White House informed the Court that two subpoenaed conversations had not been recorded, and that an 18½ minute gap existed on a third tape.

The existence of the system was first made public during the testimony of White House Aide Alexander Butterfield, when asked about the possibility of a White House taping system by Senate Counsel Fred Thompson, unlocking the entire investigation. On July 16, 1973, Butterfield told the committee, on nationwide television, that Nixon had ordered a taping system installed in the White House to automatically record all conversations; it was possible to concretely verify what the president said, and when he said it.

And here is the Report on a Technical Investigation Conducted for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia which was the smoking gun. Click here.