The US justice department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s internal watchdog have announced a joint inquiry into the destruction of videotapes of interrogations of suspected terrorists.
"I welcome this inquiry and the CIA will co-operate fully," Mike Hayden, the CIA director, said in a statement on Saturday.
On Thursday, Hayden had revelaed to agency employees that the recordings were destroyed out of fear that the tapes would leak out and reveal the identities of interrogators.
The joint inquiry will determine whether a full investigation is warranted.
He said the sessions were videotaped to provide an added layer of legal protection for interrogators using new, harsh methods authorised by George Bush, the US president, as a way to break down the defences of recalcitrant prisoners.
"I welcome it as an opportunity to address questions that have arisen over the destruction back in 2005 of videotapes," Hayden said.
John Rizzo, the CIA's acting general counsel, is preserving all remaining records related to the videotapes and their destruction, according to Kenneth L Wainstein, assistant attorney general.
on Saturday, Wainstein wrote to Rizzo to confirm justice department officials, lawyers from the CIA general counsel's office and the CIA inspector general will meet early this coming week to begin the preliminary inquiry.