Pelosi Says CIA Misled Congress on Use of Waterboarding
House speaker says the CIA and the Bush administration misrepresented torture tactics
By Michael Mcauliff
Daily News political correspondent
In a tough defense of her own actions, Nancy Pelosi accused the CIA and the Bush administration today of misleading Congress about torture tactics used in the war on terror.
"At every step of the way, the administration was misleading the Congress," Pelosi said.
"They misrepresented every step of the way and they don’t want that focus on them, so they turned it on us," she said, contending that questions about whether she tacitly condoned waterboarding were meant to distract the public from the Bush White House’s actions.
Pelosi has been hammered lately after revelations that she attended an intelligence briefing in 2002 where she was told the administration had legal opinions that found the use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" would be legal, including waterboarding.
But she said the CIA briefers claimed the extreme technique had not been used, when in fact it had. "The only mention of waterboarding in the meeting was that it was not being employed," she said.
"Yes, I am saying that the CIA was misleading the Congress, and at the same time the administration was misleading the Congress on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Pelosi said heatedly. "I’m just stating a fact."
Some critics have said Pelosi should have done more when several months later the CIA did tell the House Intelligence Committee that waterboarding was being used. Pelosi countered that committee chairwoman Jane Harman did object, and Pelosi concurred.
Pelosi renewed her call for a truth commission that she said would help reveal what actually allowed the policy, which has since been abandoned.
Reader Comments
Eradicate Pelosi
Since Pelosi is too power hungry to to do the right thing and resign, it is time to recall or impeach her, whichever procedure will provide the swiftest justice.
PELOSI
HOW CAN WE GET RID OF HER? WHAT AN EMBARASSMENT TO OUR PRESIDENT.
Pelosi
Pelosi is an incredible partisan that puts her causes as top priority to the country's interests. As a fat cat, she does not care what happens to those Americans who have saved throughout their lives, shouldered their personal, family, and community responsibilities, and believe in individual rights and liberties.
I salute those who have served our government, especially in the last decade, protecting all of us from obvious and not so obvious threats and harm.
She is an embarrassment to her position. Unfortunately, she represents a constituency that will continually send her back to Congress.
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