In a statement just put out by his office, House intelligence committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) says that a committee subpoena has been issued for the CIA’s Jose Rodriguez, the official reportedly responsible for the destruction of the torture tapes:
âIn addition, the committee is working to secure testimony for January 16 from John Rizzo and Jose Rodriguez. We are in discussions with CIA officials regarding Mr. Rizzoâs testimony. We have been told that Mr. Rodriguez would like to tell his story but his counsel has advised us that a subpoena would be necessary. We therefore have issued the subpoena for Mr. Rodriguez. We look forward to his testimony as well as the testimony of others who have information about this matter.â
The issuing of a subpoena is different than the serving of a subpoena. The statement suggests to me that with subpoena in hand the committee can now begin negotiating with Rodriguez’s lawyer, Bob Bennett, for his client’s testimony.
In other developments, staff lawyers for the committee have been at CIA headquarters today reviewing documents, and at the Justice Department investigators have been going through CIA emails and other documents.
