The CIA recently, in violation of a judge’s order, destroyed video tapes of interrogations. These interrogations took place at secret prisons through the world–Black Sites. The tapes were thought to show, in living color and surround sound, some of our recently developed “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Or, in non-Republicanspeak, torture. Two tapes were destroyed. And everyone is investigating. The Justice Department, the CIA, and now, Congress and Judge Henry Kennedy are investigating. The president was asked about the case today during a press conference. He refused to make any comment while the matter was being investigated. He’s such a stickler for the rules and all.

The president wouldn’t comment on the Plame leak while it was being investigated either. But when that case was finally settled, after his vice president’s chief of staff had been convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to 30 months in a federal prison, after the president commuted said sentence to nothing, he was asked about the whole thing. After calling his commutation “fair and balanced,” and admitting someone in his administration did in fact leak the name of Plame to a reporter, ended by saying, “It’s been a tough issue for a lot of people in the White House, and it’s run its course and now we’re going to move on.”

Hopefully it’s not going to be so easy for Bush this time around. It seems as if a judge has been openly defied. They don’t like that. The Judiciary, as they understand it, are an equal branch of government, not to be ignored by the Executive. Judge Kennedy has ordered members of the administration before him tomorrow morning to explain the destruction of these tapes. It should be an interesting new year.