Pelosi accuses CIA of lying (Updated - CIA already responded) :: Political News and commentaries

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May 14, 2009

Pelosi accuses CIA of lying (Updated - CIA already responded)

Nancy's excuse today as to why she did not object to water-boarding was astoundingly, that she was not the "appropriate" person to object to the technique, and went so far down the spin road as to say, "My job was to change the majority in Congress." In Don Surber's words:

How did Chico in "Chico and the Man" put it?

Oh, yes: "Is no my job, man."

And as noted at TWS's The Blog" - she went so far as to actually accuse the CIA of lying:

In press conference this morning, Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the CIA of "misleading" Congress concerning the use of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs), especially waterboarding. Pelosi was briefed on the techniques by the CIA in early September 2002, but says "the only mention of waterboarding...in the briefing was that it was not being employed." She emphasized "not" in her answer more than once. Only later, Pelosi says, did it come to light that the CIA was already using waterboarding on top al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah.

One reporter in attendance quickly followed up, asking Pelosi if she was accusing the CIA of lying. She initially answered "yes" and then added that the CIA was "misleading the Congress of the United States" emphasis mine at the time. Pelosi said that the CIA withheld "information about the timing and the use of this subject" - evidently referring to waterboarding.

She chastised reporters for falling for the Republicans' political machinations and deflecting attention from their misdeeds. To clear the air, Pelosi said, "I'd be very happy if they released the briefings."

The full video of the press conference is now at CSPAN.org.. She's clearly nervous and on the defense throughout the entire presser.

I have no doubt that Nancy can count on hearing the CIA's response very soon, if not immediately. And as Peter Wehner notes in his "Pelosi on the Ropes," Nancy had better be right:

In her statement today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did several remarkable things. She accused the CIA of misleading and lying to her about waterboarding. So she has shifted her story once again, from originally insisting she was not told about waterboarding in a September 2002 briefing to now saying she was told it was not being employed. Accusing America's intelligence agency of knowingly misleading a Member of Congress, and particularly a Member of the House Intelligence Committee, is quite an explosive charge. She better be able to prove it. And if she is lying -- as Porter Goss, then ranking Republican on the House Committee who later served as C.I.A. Director, seems to believe -- there will be an enormously high price for her to pay. (emphasis mine)

Update: Just heard on Fox News that the CIA has indeed already responded, and in politico/diplospeak, says the Speaker is wrong. To say that this story has legs would be making a very big understatement.

Related video:
Pelosi on Bush Administration, CIA: They Misled Us All the Time
Pelosi's lie exposed - Pelosi's Power, Oversight and Control of the CIA Two months after being briefed on Waterboarding. Nancy Pelosi in her own words allocating money...

Update: Sweetness & Light offers an interesting point:

Lest we forget, Nancy Pelosi, the future leader of the Democrats in the House, and then a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said this December 16, 1998:

Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons-of-mass-destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.
She was 'misled' then, too, by President Clinton.
Maybe Ms. Pelosi is not competent enough to hold a position of power.