The disclosure comes as a federal judge has ordered a new hearing into whether the tapes’ destruction violated his order in to preserve evidence. US District Judge Henry Kennedy made the initial ruling in a lawsuit brought by sixteen Guantanamo Bay prisoners in June 2005. The tapes were destroyed just five months later. Judge Kennedy’s call for a new hearing defies Bush administration pleas for him to stay out of the case pending a Justice Department probe. Lawyers for Guantanamo prisoners say the tapes could contain proof that evidence against them was obtained through torture.