“The Central Intelligence Agency in 2005 destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation of two Qaeda operatives in the agency’s custody, a step it took in the midst of Congressional and legal scrutiny about its secret detention program, according to current and former government officials. The videotapes showed agency operatives in 2002 subjecting terrorism suspects–including Abu Zubaydah, the first detainee in C.I.A. custody–to severe interrogation techniques. The tapes were destroyed in part because officers were concerned that video showing harsh interrogation methods could expose agency officials to legal risks, several officials said. In a statement to employees on Thursday [December 6, 2007], Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the C.I.A. director, said that the decision to destroy the tapes was made ‘within the C.I.A.’ and that they were destroyed to protect the safety of undercover officers and because they no longer had intelligence value.”
– Mark Mazzetti, “C.I.A. Destroyed 2 Tapes Showing Interrogations,” The New York Times, Dec. 7, 2007