More Info on Eatinger

I now have at least a partial answer to why CIA Director John Brennan would be "extremely pleased" that Senator Udall withdrew his block on replacing attorney Robert Eatinger as CIA general counsel.

Eatinger was one of two CIA lawyers who reportedly told the director of the CIA’s clandestine service in 2005 there were no legal requirements for the agency to hold onto 92 videotapes that showed the abusive tactics used by its interrogators against al-Qaida prisoners. Although Eatinger and the other lawyer did not specifically sanction it, the CIA official, Jose Rodriguez, later ordered the tapes destroyed.

  WaPo

Since the spat between the CIA and DiFi’s intelligence committee has become so public, and the topic of the committee’s disputed report is the torture program, they will no doubt want to have Mr. Eatinger at least not a current player at the CIA, so it looks as though they are cleaning up their act. That still doesn’t explain why Senator Udall willingly removed the obstacle to replacing him.

Eatinger is also the man who referred the Senate Committee to the DOJ for legal action, which is why DiFi came out swinging.  Maybe there was a backdoor agreement that if Eatinger went away, DiFi would calm down.

A little more on background regarding the destruction of the tapes and attempts to avoid the fallout:

UPDATE 27 March 2013. This morning the Washington Post reports that the as yet unnamed woman who “signed off on the 2005 decision to destroy video tapes of prisoners being subjected to treatment critics have called torture” has become acting chief of the CIA’s Clandestine Service, responsible for launching drone strikes and running spies overseas. The unnamed woman is described by the Post as “in her 50s” and a “home run from a diversity standpoint.” She has served “multiple tours in Moscow” and has held “top positions in London and New York.”

  NSArchive

Sidebar: “A home run from a diversity standpoint.” Is that what they’re calling mixed race now?

The Post also reports that the new acting director of the Clandestine Service and its former director Jose Rodriguez repeatedly sought permission to destroy the torture tapes, but were denied permission.

The two sent instructions to destroy the tapes anyway, infamously (and sadly, perhaps correctly) noting: “The heat from destroying [the torture videos] is nothing compared to what it would be if the tapes ever got into the public domain.” The order carried only two names: Rodriguez and the new acting director of the Clandestine Service.

The careers of both appear to be thriving.

[...]
Despite 2004 instructions from Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and Counsel David Addington not to destroy the tapes, a request for their destruction was made on 5 November 2005.


[...]

The request to destroy the tapes was made just days after the Washington Post revealed that the CIA was using covert “black site” prisons to detain prisoners in the War on Terror. Including one in Thailand.

In early May of 2013, CIA Director Brennan replaced the unnamed woman who was acting chief with a former CIA undercover agent, who remains under cover and therefore unnamed, because the woman was instrumental in planning and carrying out the secret detentions program and involved with the destruction of the torture videos. Or, if you want to believe otherwise:

[May 7, 2013] CIA director John Brennan has appointed someone to fill the position of National Clandestine Service (NCS) director. The individual, however, is apparently going to keep his undercover status.

First, a key aspect of this news is the fact that the person appointed is not the woman, who had been serving as the acting director of the clandestine service. Her consideration drew attention because she had played a role in the destruction of CIA torture tapes and had also run a “black site” or secret prison in Thailand.

The CIA mantains her involvement in the rendition, detention and interrogation program had nothing to do with the fact she was not appointed. “The assertion she was not chosen because of her affiliation with the [counterterrorism] mission is absolutely not true,” said CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood, according to various media reports. So, there is no reason to think ethics or morality played a role in not selecting her for the job.

  FireDogLake

No reason at all.

Responding to a query about why the new head of the National Clandestine Service is remaining undercover, Todd D. Ebitz, a spokesman for the agency, said that “senior C.I.A. officers can be kept undercover for several important reasons, including the protection of lives and operational methods.”

[...]

Despite his tour of duty as the top American spy in Islamabad, the officer is not closely tied to the more controversial aspects of the agency’s counterterrorism mission since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. < br />
  NYTimes

No reason at all.

All the people who interact with the intelligence community, including reporters, know the names of both these people very well. But the American public may not be told. Shhhh. National security. Which, as we are all aware these days, means security for the nation’s handlers from the nation’s citizens.

The CIA’s NCS operated with a publicly known chief from September 17, 2007 to February 28, 2013.

What happened?