The Associated Press
A videotape showing Pentagon officials’ final interrogation of al-Qaida suspect Jose Padilla is missing, raising questions about whether federal prosecutors have lost other recordings and evidence in the case.
The tape is classified, but Padilla’s attorneys said they believe something happened during that interrogation that could explain why Padilla does not trust them and suspects they are government agents.
Padilla attorney Anthony Natale said in court papers that the March 2, 2004, interrogation at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., could contain information the government conveyed to Padilla that “directly impacts upon his relationship with his attorneys.”
Prosecutors and the Pentagon have said they cannot find the tape despite an intensive search.
Authorities made 88 video recordings of Padilla being interrogated during the 3 1/2 years he was held at the brig as an “enemy combatant,” officials said. Eighty-seven tapes have been given to the defense, leaving only the last session unaccounted for.
“I don’t know what happened to it,” Pentagon attorney James Schmidli said during a recent court hearing.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke was incredulous that anything connected to such a high-profile defendant could be lost.
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