Press release: “[December 17, 2007] House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey reiterating the Chairman’s request to have a Department of Justice representative testify at Thursday’s hearing on the Applicability of Federal Criminal Laws to the Interrogation of Detainees. Congressional leaders have already criticized the Department’s refusal to provide any information about the CIA’s destruction of interrogation videotapes and attempts to delay legislative inquiries into the matter. As Chairman Conyers’ letter points out, the pending Justice Department investigation “should not be used as a shield against proper and necessary oversight.”