Black Box Report

Some time in the not too distant future, a relieved nation will amuse itself with parlour games, looking back and debating what the biggest scandal of the Bush administration was. To be sure, it's a crowded field - Valerie Plame's outing, the prosecutor purge, the entire leadup to the Iraq War, among others - all good choices. And now we can add the CIA torture tapes to the list. With the appointment of federal prosecutor John Durham to the case by the Attorney General, the rubber is meeting the road:

I think it is safe to say that the CIA torture tape story just hit the big time. Attorney General Mukasey apparently went right past the option of slow-rolling an in-house investigation (does David Addington’s direct line into the AG’s office still connect?) and appointed an outside prosecutor. Better, Mukasey didn’t choose a hack; John Durham has a reputation for taking down big game that ranks up there with Pat Fitzgerald and Elliot Spitzer.

Of course, given the administration's track record of stonewalling and obstruction, it may be best not to get too excited:

Given how investigations of this administration have generally gone (Scooter Libby, anyone?), getting our hopes up over this one is probably unwise, but at least Mukasey is making the right noises.

Of course, right wing blogs who believe torture is just fine and don't like the notion of accountability for this administration, this investigation is already an outrage - before it even starts:

This is just what we needed. Another gutless attorney general. Another out of control special prosecutor. And another media circus. Never mind there is no crime here, or even the possibility of a crime…What a waste of the taxpayers' money, just to placate the howling banshees on the left and in the media.

Mukasey? Just another lefty moonbat. Durham? A Soros-backed liberal flunky on a witch hunt, to be sure. But not even the possibility of a crime? He should check with Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean. But in case he can't, blogger Glenn Greenwald lays it out:

And now we have the 9/11 Commission Chairmen stating as explicitly as can be that the mere concealment (let alone destruction) of these videos constituted the knowing and deliberate obstruction of their investigation into the worst attack on U.S. soil in our history. Combined with the fact that the videos' destruction almost certainly constitutes "obstruction of justice" with regard to numerous judicial proceedings as well, we're talking here about extremely serious felonies at the highest levels of our government.

It's important to point out that Durham is neither "outside" nor "special," nor "independent." And while Durham is reported to be a straight shooter, he still reports to a Department of Justice not exactly known for its transparency. So Talk Left has another suggestion:

Durham's investigation will be conducted in grand jury rooms and in private interviews. Congress needs to conduct its own investigation (without immunizing witnesses who might be appropriate targets of prosecution) into the administration's knowledge or involvement.

No pushing or crowding, now. There's enough scandal here for everyone.