House Democrats: CIA Misled Congress

(CBS/ AP)  As lawmakers prepare to debate intelligence legislation, Democrats are accusing senior CIA officials of repeatedly misleading Congress.

Republicans charge the timing of the allegations and a threat from President Barack Obama to veto the intelligence bill are just political maneuvering to protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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.

Intelligence officials told CBS News the error Panetta briefed Congress about was an error of omission and not deliberate. These members seem to believe there's more to it than that. The timing of all this is no accident.

Exactly what actions Panetta disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 is unclear, but committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat, 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.

The ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., said the flap between Democrats and Panetta is "bizarre" and shows the Democrats lack leadership.

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."

Reyes, in a later statement, said: "I believe that CIA has, in the vast majority of matters, told the truth. But in rare instances, certain officers have not adhered to the high standards. ... Both Director Panetta and I are determined to make sure this does not happen again."

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 House Speaker Nancy 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. Mr. 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 Mr. 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.

"One was slipped under a staffer's office door late at night, the other was deliberately hidden from Republican members for two weeks and had to be obtained from the press. It is unfortunate that the president's veto threat and the continued attacks by partisans against the CIA are a direct result of congressional Democrats' continued heavy-handed attempts to cover up for Speaker Pelosi."

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.

The Republican Party seized on her accusation that the CIA misled Congress, contending that the California Democrat's remarks have demoralized the intelligence community. House Republicans have repeatedly demanded that a bipartisan panel investigate her allegations.

House Republicans oppose at least one provision in the intelligence authorization bill, and they have an unusual ally: the White House.

Mr. 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 Intelligence Committee.

Democrats want to open the briefings to all members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees unless committee leaders agreed otherwise. That would be about 40 lawmakers, depending on shifting membership rosters, instead of the eight required by law.

They claim the Bush administration sought to undermine congressional oversight. However, the White House is concerned that briefing more lawmakers might compromise the most sensitive U.S. intelligence operations.

[cbsantispin]

The CIA is in hot water with Congress because Congress is bring misled about events Post Mortem, the events have already happened, there is no reason for the CIA to mislead or lie after the fact unless the CIA is trying to cover up or hide something. Even if you accept the argument that the CIA lied and misled to prevent leaks, there is no need to lie and mislead Congress now. The current perception until proven otherwise is that the CIA lied and midled because the activities it was engaged in were unconstitutional, unapproved and illegal.

[GiveMeFreedom]

And Congress never misleads the taxpayer. Heck no, they just out and out lie to us. Give me a break morons in the democratic party.

[Joe_NY_15]

by toobigtofail July 9, 2009 8:30 AM PDT
why would you not want the members of the senate and house intelligence committee to be appraised of the the black ops, which sometimes include killings, blowing things up and in some cases the overthrowing of governments...why would you not want a few elected representatives to be accountable for these deeds

its the only check and balance over the most powerful agency in the world you have
______________________________

THE ANSWER: because Democrats have a big mouth, they leak classified information and their Liberalism is founded on undermining America's strengths and their inherent Anti-Americanism.....so they can't be trusted....nor do they have a need to know.....we have oversight committees to do the job.....some liberal politician who is not on the armed or national security committee doesn't need to have classified knowledge of our covert operations.....if they do, then bye-bye to the secrecy.

[toobigtofail]

the cia is operated based on the idea that the ends justifies the means

that is, we, our country authorizes the cia to do very bad things to further the interest of our country and other powerful economic (business) interests

what are those very bad things?

its difficult to know because of the secrecy, and by the way, our enemies, the recipients of those bad things the cia does, know well, only the american people are kept in the dark with the secrecy

some of those things involve, killing powerful political and business leaders, allende of chile would be an example http://foia.state.gov/Reports/HincheyReport.asp#5

some of those bad things involve dealing drugs to fund covert operations like what hassenfus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Hasenfus) did in support of the contras. when a california sheriffs department raided a house and found drugs and files tieing the feds to covert war and drugs the cia stepped in confiscated all the evidence and quashed the investigation see this cia doc go down to note 51 (https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/cocaine/report/background.html)

and the story was told by a reporter who mysteriously "committed suicide"
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3874

the cia has overthrow lawfully elected governments like that of president mossadeq in iran this act was coordinated by cia station chief kermitt roosevelt and the british so that the iranian oil reserves could be controlled by british and us oil companies http://cryptome.org/cia-iran-all.htm

and the list goes on

heres the problem...you see the ends dont justify the means, all we have are means, there are no ends, just one mean leading to another and soon we begin looking a lot like the enemy wee claim is so evil that we have to be evil like them to defeat them

have you ever wondered what the 21 pages of redacted information in the 911 report might tell us if the intelligence community would allow the american people to know in those 21 pages are to be found important information about how our so called friends funded and coordinated attacks against us, but because of "special" relationships our military and intel communities have with these thugs, their identities are protected

power tends to corrupt and their is no more absolute power in the usa and the world than our shadow military, black ops intel community...they know all and they rule without much oversight

those of us who claim to be free men and women should at least want our elected representatives in the house and senate to have oversight over these powerful forces even if we as common citizens are not permitted to see secret bad deeds done in our name.

[TheMasses0009]

I concur.
I'm also hungry, the state not the poster ..........

[TheMasses0009]

Joe_NY_15

Yes, you got that right. Rainy here lately but that makes the temperature and climate much better though.
I think there needs to be more Michael Jackson coverage ..............

[Joe_NY_15]

Yeah, it's been a pretty cool summer and the rain probably cools it down, been rainy here for months........I don't know how they could have any MORE coverage then they had already.

You've been away for a while and the other wonder twins (Irish/Shazam) rarely activate....lol

[Joe_NY_15]

by TheMasses0009 July 9, 2009 7:59 AM PDT
?8 is one heck of a dissapproval rating.
____________________

Hey Masses.....I just noticed that...it's supposed to be negative - 8, but the ? appeared.....how's it going in sunny/rainy Florida

[W_A_H]

Mr. Panetta,

You took this job when no one else would touch it. They were running away from it. This was the last position to be filled. You took this job I?m quite sure at the request of Obama and out of your innate duty to country and they know it. Either this is a collective effort to vaporize the Central Intelligence Agency or an overt act to destroy your reputation as they come after you. It?s one or the other that can be seen by any bumpkin including me by a country mile.

If this an attack on you Mr. Panetta, we will know it as any person, ANY PERSON that has taken a job as a favor and is now being attacked would simply submit their resignation.

But, if you stay and participate in this, we will know this is just one more grand illusion from my own party to wit, today I say goodbye to the party my family has belonged for 5 generations as my own party now thinks I?m the idiot. 2010 can?t get here quick enough.

Wallace

[Joe_NY_15]

Wallace, some excellent thoughts on the subject....may I ask you, what other things that have been happening lately in the Democrat party/Obama admin, that has annoyed you as well ? Thanks

[prelgovisk]

The Congress misled the CIA:

1. You give us more: Defend our nation at all costs...double your efforts, get more results.
2. We give you less: Here is your new budget and rules of engagement...

[Joe_NY_15]

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday (Today) shows that 30% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of ?8. The President?s Approval Index rating has fallen six points

[TheMasses0009]

?8 is one heck of a dissapproval rating.

[hawksprings]

It becomes more obvious with every passing day that the Democrat Leadership, starting with Obama, hate the very principles this country was founded on and are doing their best to 'reshape' America into their version of a Socialist Utopia.