Nancy Pelosi, CIA Interrogations | 05/22/2009 9:52 am
Nancy Pelosi: 'I Stand By My Comment' That CIA 'Misled' Congress on Waterboarding

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists she has said all she’s going to say about the CIA’s Congressional briefings on the interrogation techniques were being used on terror detainees in September of 2002.
Pelosi has been under fire from Republicans who object to her remarks accusing the CIA of misleading her, an accusation she has not substantiated with proof. Some have even called on the FBI to launch an investigation into whether the CIA did in fact keep things from Congress. The Democratic-led House on Thursday rejected that idea, with Pelosi’s spokesman calling it a "political stunt."
Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, told FOX News’ Greta VanSusteren last night that since Pelosi brought up the accusation, it’s her burden to prove it, particularly since the CIA claims she knows more than she’s telling.
"If she’s accusing an agency of government that they are - that they have misbehaved and deceived Congress, then I think it’s her obligation to prove it. And if she needs to have those [CIA] documents to prove it, that’s fine with me," McCain said. "We have to be careful about the morale, therefore the effectiveness, of the CIA and other intelligence agencies because we are in this struggle, as was just proven yesterday in New York City. So let’s get it done and move on and help these agencies protect America."
Giving her first press conference since making the CIA accusations, Pelosi, D-CA, told reporters today that she will offer no further comment on the matter, what she knew in terms of interrogation, or when she knew it. Instead, she wants Democrats to focus on jobs, health care, energy, and other topics.
"I don’t have anything more to say about it. I stand by my comment. What we [Democrats] are doing is staying on our course and not being distracted from it," Pelosi said.























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Exactly! Dick Cheney is doing everything to distract Obama from health care, the economy, Pakistan, and two wars. He’s just a meddlesome old man who still can’t prove there were WMDs in Iraq but expects everyone to believe it because he says so. The man is toxic.
As for Nancy and Leon… give them both a lie detector test and then let’s get on with getting government business done.
caj
the problem is, if she had been informed that water boarding was one of the techniques that was going to be used she made no protest to the CIA, whereas others who were during the same period - McCain and Harmon both had objections to it - Harmon wrote a letter to the CIA protesting it. Some democrats and republicans actually asked if more could be done than just water boarding to get information.
Personally I think that someone must come through with concrete information one way or another to clear this up, otherwise it is just another stupid political sideshow.
This is what happens because no one wants to really be bipartisan. Partisanship is such a disease in our country, no one is free of it 100%
Jessica - good points, but I do believe we have been looking at who initiated the techniques and who knew what. That is how Pelosi and other dems got pulled into the argument. How much did Biden know. I think many of us know that Pres Bush, Cheney and a few others in his cabinet knew - there is no question about that and for the past few years the left has been trying to get them impeached and prosecuted for it. Why do you think that did not happen? My guess is that there are many democrats past and present that knew about it. It is obvious because many have come forward and admitted it. Now they are all clamming up until it is decided how to investigate.
We have known for a long time that waterboarding was used and there has been - we knew it during the election - so now it is all the particulars that are coming into play.
Absolutely, Deena! The Speaker is making a major accusation and needs to supply major proof.