ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Prosecutors have told a federal judge that the CIA possessed videotaped interrogations of enemy combatants despite earlier telling the judge in the trial of al-Qaida terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui that no such recordings existed. In a letter made public in redacted form Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said the CIA was mistaken when it claimed on separate occasions in 2003 and 2005 that no such recordings existed. Since then, the government has found two video tapes and one audio tape of interrogations.
None of the interrogations relates directly to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks or the Moussaoui case, the government said. Moreover, the issue is moot since a jury failed to impose the death penalty in the case. Moussaoui had pleaded guilty to terror-related charges that guaranteed a sentence of life in prison, and last year's sentencing trial was only to determine whether he would be executed.
The redacted letter does not fully explain how the mistake occurred.
Moussaoui's lawyer, Barbara Hartung, declined to comment on the letter.