Justice Department launches criminal probe of destruction of CIA torture tapes.

Late Update: AP reports that Attorney General Michael Mukasey has named an outside prosecutor to handle the criminal investigation.

Later Update: Who is John Durham? Paul Kiel takes a look at the deputy U.S. attorney in Connecticut whom Mukasey named to oversee the investigation.

Later Yet: We've posted the text of Mukasey's statement announcing the investigation.

Even Later: There's some question about whether it is proper to call Durham an "outside counsel." He will not have the independence of Patrick Fitzgerald, for example, in the Plame investigation; rather, as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, he will report to the deputy attorney general just like any other U.S. attorney. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has recused itself, presumably because most of the most important terrorism cases have been handled by that office.