WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A former CIA official said he won't testify in the U.S. Justice Department inquiry into destroyed tapes allegedly depicting harsh interrogations.
The Department of Justice subpoenaed former clandestine services chief Jose Rodriquez Jr. in the investigation into the destruction of tapes depicting CIA officers employing harsh interrogation tactics against high-profile al-Qaida suspects.
Thursday's Washington Post said the Justice Department also blocked Rodriquez from accessing government records about the incident.
Rodriquez said his testimony hinges on gaining immunity in exchange for disclosing details of the tape's destruction in 2005.
The CIA claimed it destroyed the tapes to protect its officers from retribution, though opponents said the destruction was meant to hide the tactics some say amount to torture.
A federal judge in Washington Wednesday said there is no evidence to suggest the Bush administration defied court courts in the tapes' destruction.
One Washington attorney familiar with intelligence cases said several officers approached him on legal counsel and suggested the intelligence community was growing anxious as the case develops.
