State Dept mystery: Who cut briefing video on Iran talks?
WASHINGTON – The State Department says it can’t determine who ordered several minutes of videotape deleted from a news briefing about nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Spokesman John Kirby said Thursday the department also couldn’t say why the tape was edited.
A seven-page report says facts remained unclear after 34 interviews of current and former officials, and email searches. The report was shared with Congress.
The deleted section from the Dec. 2, 2013, briefing with then-spokeswoman Jen Psaki (SAH’-kee) included questions about another official’s months-old denial of then-secret U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Psaki said, “There are times where diplomacy needs privacy.”
The department confirmed Thursday the tape was deliberately edited.
Kirby said a technician couldn’t recall who ordered the cut and the tape may have been edited because of a technical glitch in the recording.
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