Mark Mazzetti and The New York Times were the first to uncover the existence and destruction of the CIA interrogation tapes.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent contemporaneous sources (NPR, Spokesman-Review) and later retrospectives (Wikipedia, Livingston Award citation) confirm Mazzetti/NYT broke the story in December 2007, with CIA confirmation following the paper's inquiry.
Sources
- The Senate Torture Report and Investigative Journalism (cfr.org)
- https://www.npr.org/2007/12/06/16985600/cia-destroyed-videotapes-of-interrogations (npr.org)
- https://www.npr.org/2007/12/10/17100120/senate-to-investigate-destroyed-cia-tapes (npr.org)
- https://wallacehouse.umich.edu/library/c-i-a-destroyed-two-tapes-showing-interrogations (wallacehouse.umich.edu)
- https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/dec/07/cia-destroyed-interrogation-tapes/ (spokesman.com)