It's Never The Crime ...

During today's White House briefing, CBS's Chip Reid asked Robert Gibbs about a Daily Telegraph report that claims there are photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners which include images of rape and sexual abuse.



Major General Antonio Taguba -- who conducted the Abu Ghraib investigation -- confirmed the photographs authenticity to the Telegraph, telling the paper that they "show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency." Still, Taguba said he agreed with President Obama's decision to reverse course and not release additional photos of prisoner abuse.



Gibbs not only reminded the press corps that the Pentagon denied the report, but used the opportunity to take shots at the British press.



"I want to speak generally about some reports I've witnessed over the past few years in the British media," Gibbs said. "In some ways, I'm surprised it filtered down."



"Let's just say if I wanted to look up, if I wanted to read a write-up of how Manchester United fared last night in the Champions League Cup, I'd might open up a British newspaper," he continued. "If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I'm not entirely sure it'd be the first pack of clips I'd pick up."



When the photo question came up later, Gibbs again denied the Telegraph report, but also said that he hadn't seen all the photos.



So the White House was quick to deny the Telegraph report today, but what about Major General Taguba's on-the-record confirmation that the photos described in the report exist?