The DPS issued a statement Wednesday saying it destroyed the records because federal regulations prohibit it from keeping intelligence information that is not part of a criminal case.
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But state Rep. Kevin Bailey, the Democratic chairman of the House General Investigating Committee, said it appears that that is true only for a federal investigation or an investigation funded by federal money.
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Texas law generally requires that records be kept for a period of time, but it was unclear how those guidelines applied in this case. A spokeswoman for GOP Attorney General Greg Abbott said it would be a crime to destroy records that had been requested under the Texas Open Records Act.

Three Democratic state representatives filed a request Monday for all documents about DPS involvement in the search. However, it was not clear if any requests were made before the records were destroyed.

"Everybody knew it, and those who were in a position to do something about it, were not doing anything," said Benon Sevan, the executive director of the Office of Iraq Program.

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To questions about whether there should have been intense scrutiny of the companies and evidence of wrongdoing, such as illegal money being funneled to Saddam, Sevan said, "We don't do that. I'm sorry."