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CIA Misled Congress, Top Democrats Say

By PAMELA HESS
,
AP
posted: 6 HOURS 13 MINUTES AGO
comments: 3678
filed under: Political News
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WASHINGTON (July 9) - Democrats are accusing senior CIA officials of repeatedly misleading Congress, but Republicans say the allegations are just political maneuvering to protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The accusations come as lawmakers prepare to debate intelligence legislation — a bill President Barack Obama has threatened to veto.
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Letters by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and other members of the panel say CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress last month that senior CIA officials have concealed significant actions and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001.
Exactly what actions Panetta disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 is unclear, but committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said the CIA outright lied in one case.
"These notifications have led me to conclude that this committee has been misled, has not been provided full and complete notifications, and (in at least one case) was affirmatively lied to," Reyes wrote to Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the committee's senior Republican. A copy of his letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
Reyes said in the letter that he is considering opening a full investigation.
Hoekstra on Thursday called Reyes' letter "one of the most bizarre episodes in politics that I've seen in my time here in Washington."
"It looks like they're working on the political equation," Hoekstra said on CBS' "The Early Show." ''They're not trying to foster a bipartisan consensus on national security."
Panetta brought the matters to the committee's attention, CIA spokesman George Little said Wednesday.
"It is not the policy or practice of the CIA to mislead Congress. This agency and this director believe it is vital to keep the Congress fully and currently informed. Director Panetta's actions back that up," Little said. "It was the CIA itself that took the initiative to notify the oversight committees."
Seven Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee sent a letter to Panetta on June 26 asking that in light of his disclosure he revise a statement he made in May to CIA employees that it was not CIA policy or practice to mislead Congress.
The cryptic letter and CIA statement came on the eve of a House debate on an intelligence bill. The debate is expected to revive a partisan argument that has raged on and off for months about whether Pelosi knew in the fall of 2002 about the CIA's use of waterboarding weeks earlier.
Waterboarding, which simulates drowning, is an interrogation technique the CIA used on three prisoners in 2002 and 2003. Obama has called waterboarding torture.
Much of the debate on the House intelligence bill is expected to be diverted into a discussion of what Pelosi knew about the CIA's harsh interrogation program and why, if she was briefed on it, she didn't formally object to it.
Republicans on the Intelligence Committee say the letters and Obama's threat to veto the legislation are cover-up attempts on behalf of Pelosi and what she knew and didn't do about "enhanced interrogation."
"The blatantly political nature of the Democrats' letters is revealed by their handling," said Jamal Ware, spokesman for Republicans on the committee, in a statement late Wednesday.
Pelosi told reporters in May she had not been informed that waterboarding had been used against terrorism suspects, even though it had been. When asked whether she was accusing the CIA of lying to her, she said, "Yes."
The CIA sent lawmakers a chart in May describing the 40 congressional briefings it gave on the interrogation techniques. But that document was found to include several errors, leaving in question exactly what Pelosi was told.
House Republicans oppose at least one provision in the intelligence authorization bill, and they have an unusual ally: the White House.
Obama's aides have said they will recommend he veto the bill if it includes a Democratic-written provision requiring the president to notify the intelligence committees in their entirety about covert CIA activities.
Under current law, the president is only obligated to notify the top Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate and the senior Democratic and Republican members on each chamber's
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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-07-09 06:45:03
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centristswillwin

08:02 PMJul 10 2009

americasrightnow 07:39 PMJul 09 2009>>>>>>No one is perfect. I've spent my time on here going after people, but I've grown tired of it. I'm tired of attacking and I'm just as tired defending. You could call me a Conservative Republican but I really don't feel like I'm represented well with that label. What I want to do is work with anyone, no matter their party, race, gender, ethnicity that is willing to put this country over their agenda. We can look back and see what was done wrong and what was done right and we can look to the future with our ideas and find a way to engage all Americans.*******You're going to be accused of going to the "Dark Side" now! Welcome to the middle, where common sense prevails.

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redneckcraka9

07:59 PMJul 09 2009

OK....ANOTHER RIVETTING HOUR OF ROSANNE IS COMING ON....AS THE LATE GEN MCARTHUR SAID........"I SHALL RETURN".........I NEVER WATCHED THE SHOW WHEN IT WAS ON.....IT'S PRETTY DAMN FUNNY THOUGH, EVEN THOUGH HER POLITICS ARE ABSURD FOR THE MOST PART........LMAO

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JTonkins

07:59 PMJul 09 2009

"Countries in Europe that signed up to Kyoto, which is our equivalent of this cap and trade, ...have seen a loss in jobs -- and funny enough they've lost jobs to America," she observes, "because they can't compete, because it immediately affects how much electricity costs to people." And utility costs, she contends, are a particularly sensitive issue to people. "It's sensitive to people on low incomes, but it's a very sensitive issue for industries that are trying to make a profit and that can only succeed in a very competitive world, that can only succeed if they can keep their energy prices really low," McElhinney explains. "So for Europe, [cap and trade] has been a total disaster." - And the Europeans are moving away from socialism, but we're moving toward it. Seems we're about a decade behind the curve. China and Mexico are going to welcome the jobs that Cap and Trade drive out of America. - SEE YA.

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Mommaleecy

07:59 PMJul 09 2009

Wsorrian 07:50 PMJul 09 2009 Mommaleecy 07:45 PMJul 09 2009 Politics 101: You don't fight a recession by being fiscally conservative.==== That may be "Politics 101" is a recession is an election issue, but I prefer Economics 101 to actually end the recession. Which means stop spending money you don't have. Stop printing money to make up for what you don't have. Stop spending and quit trying to pile on multi-trillion dollar entitlements on top of a bad economy. Typical liberal mentality though...confuse politics for econiomics and after that, do s#!t backwards./////////////////////////Depends what you spend on, honey dear! Infrastructure, education, energy reform and healthcare spending has long term benefits. Thanks Obama! Unjust wars with no exit strategy does not.

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georgechevy2

07:59 PMJul 09 2009

An Obama voter with a degree from a liberal school is what is referred to as an "idiot savant".

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Vasilfasista

07:58 PMJul 09 2009

USA is over if can not handle its internal matters -justice and control over higheshelon ,croocks , and the halfintelligence.Ye , ye , I am very bad ,ye ye.

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redneckcraka9

07:54 PMJul 09 2009

I RECALL HILLARY SAYING SHE DIDN'T REMEMBER FOR............OH.....ABOUT A COUPLE OF YEARS................WHAT'S NEW?

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Mommaleecy

07:54 PMJul 09 2009

JTonkins 07:50 PMJul 09 2009 Mommaleecy 07:45 PMJul 09 2009 JTonkins 07:42 PMJul 09 2009 Yep, Bush was far from a fiscal conservative, and he screwed up. Obama is the farthest thing possible from a fiscal conservative, and he is screwing up even more. I thought we all had the basic understanding that two wrongs do not make a right.////////////////////////Politics 101: You don't fight a recession by being fiscally conservative. ---------------------------------Try history 101. May I refer you back to the mess that Carter left, and the method used to get us out of it? Tax cuts. Job creation went through the roof and we recovered quite nicely, enough so that Reagan was able to spend Billions rebuilding our millitary that Carter tried to ruin.//////////////////////Historians tell you to also consider the time. Please don't confuse the two era's. Furthermore, I remember tax cuts for the wealthy not trickling down as promised? HMMMM, because of human greed which still exists today.

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Danielistical

07:54 PMJul 09 2009

In 1936 FDR submitted a budget that called for unpressidented spending,, from 1933 to 1936 the federal budget rose from 6% to 9% of the GDP .. in 1937 the great depession started a sharp downturn,,then he (FDR) raised taxes againe and againe taxing corporations the hardest because they were not spending,,, sounds a lot like what Obama is doing don't it???????

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centristswillwin

07:54 PMJul 09 2009

americasrightnow: What I do in my community, is attend Town Council Meetings and simply ask questions. People act like asking questions is embarrassing. Well, it isn't and it's a good way to find out who's full of crap, and who isn't. Many will try to misdirect and bluster, so you know they care about nothing more than their own agenda. If you take someone to task, they will show their true colors. I've had good discourse with some people who I was told it was impossible. I don't judge people by problems others have had. I come here with an open mind, and try to be a voice of reason. These are the tools I learn with. I'll learn from both Republicans and Democrats, and have opinions about both.

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