Archivist Allen Weinstein asked to decide if it was legal for CIA to destroy tapes
Rep. Waxman asked Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein to render a judgment as to whether the destruction of the videotapes was consistent with the law.
"I would like your opinion on whether the CIA's destruction of these videotapes was in accordance with the Federal Records Act and your implementing regulations," Waxman wrote on December 11.
CIA's records management failures, including inadequate preservation of audiovisual records, are a longstanding concern of the National Archives and Records Administration.
"Videos stored in the ARC [CIA Agency Records Center] are in danger of catastrophic loss due to tape binder failure and/or fungal contamination," the Archives found in a 2000 audit of CIA records management practices.
And some CIA employees seemed oblivious to the laws governing record preservation, NARA reported.
"Some of the agency personnel who create and maintain special media do not recognize them as federal records that may be disposed only in accordance with NARA-approved schedules," the Archives audit found.
The 2000 audit of"Records Management in the Central Intelligence Agency," cited in Rep. Waxman's letter, was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists under the Freedom of Information Act and may be found here: