Probe of Cheney's Covert CIA Plan Urged

(CBS)  The CIA never briefed Congress on a sensitive counter-terrorism plan because former Vice President Dick Cheney told CIA officials not to.

That's what Democrats say the CIA director Leon Panetta told them when he met with the Intelligence Committees last month immediately after he learned about the program and killed it.

"You can't have anybody, you can't have a vice president or a president or a senator say 'Don't follow the law," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Cheney's direct involvement is fueling calls for an investigation, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

"This can't stand to have something operating for almost a decade with not one member of Congress ever having been informed," said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.

Government sources describe the secret plan as "an on-again, off-again" program, conceived after 9/11, that never got off the ground.

It reportedly involved taking out major al Qaeda figures at close range.

"I'm sure that there's a lot of programs that we've never been briefed on that an administration may have thought about doing but never implemented," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich.

Republicans accuse Democrats of manufacturing outrage to provide cover for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who came under fire when she said this about waterboarding: "The CIA was misleading the Congress. They mislead us all the time!"

If Vice President Cheney did say to the CIA "don't tell Congress," is that against the law?

"It's probably skirting the law," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The question is what do you do with that. And I don't think that there is going to be any will on Congress to prosecute him."

Potentially more serious is the investigation being considered by the attorney general who says he will decide soon on whether to investigate the Bush admininstration's tough interrogation tactics.

[rtrav85]

1) I'm glad the CIA has been working on ways to hunt al qaeda terrorists.
2) This misguided anger against Cheney and the CIA is clearly just to cover Pelosi.
3) Another interesting article on the topic here: https://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/World-Politics-and-Current-Events/Let-the-CIA-fight-terrorists/sl34045952bp344cpp5pn1.html

[hamiltongrad]

Who is the enemy here ? The Democrats voted against virtual

[Rivera1001]

The power of the executive branch of government must be limited by Congressional oversight. When no supervision exists and nearly all of the power of government resides in the executive branch, abuse of power is inevitable. When the activities of agencies like the CIA are not monitored, they will cross the line. This is not because one political party, agency, or man is inherently evil. It is simply human nature.

[reopen911investigation]

Cheney and his lackey George Bush are terrorists who deserve a trial and then deserve to be hung like Saddam Hussein.

[abbe91]

"The CIA never briefed Congress on a sensitive counter-terrorism plan because former Vice President Dick Cheney told CIA officials not to."

Why is that surprising ?
After all, he also asked the CIA to fabricate false intelligence
(WMD, yellowcake, etc ...) as a pretext to invade Iraq.
And when somebody at the CIA didn't cooperate, he just blew out their cover (Brewster-Jennings).
So, please, Cheney and family, no lesson on patriotism and security. You are not qualified.

[thebob-bob]

The Neocon spin machine is on ... full blast.

Oh, it was a plan to kill A Q'da? Who could be against that? (No one would be so why the big secret?) And they never implemented it (meaning they failed in their attempts) so big deal!

The issue is that Cheney ordered (unlawfully) the CIA to not tell the duly constituted over-sight committees that they were setting up assassination squads.

A sheetstorm is brewing and they're trying to get ahead of the story and spin the heck out of it.

[WheresAmerica]

Senator Leahy D-Vermont is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has been pushing for a Truth Commission on the Bush Administration. He has a petition going at the web address below. I suspect he has a better chance of getting an investigation started than most. Please sign the petition.

http://www.bushtruthcommission.com/

[learth]

What Cheney covered up was not a mission to kill Osama. Only someone very gullible would fall for that LEAKED explanation. They are trying to make it seem like he was covering up some sensible and obvious government response. They are just trying to give a cover story to the republicans trying to quash any real investigation. This is THE BIG LIE script. The investigation would probably only find a few criminally stupid individuals like John Yoo. What it will reveal is a government driven by fear. They were telling the people to be afraid, yet political fear and corporate group think also ruled their minds. They are lying to hide what they really are, cowards who chose politics above integrity.

[stuart2020]

Well like I said the other day. I hate Cheney but wish him no ill will really. I think at that particular time America should be grateful that we had Dick Cheney. His efforts to protect America cannot be denied.

However. If what seems to be the case is in fact true. Than Cheney, in perhaps all the noble reasons one can drum up, never-the-less over-stepped his bounds considerably.

If America tolerates a public official - a VP especially - who willfully and with malice decieves, lies to, mis-leads or otherwise mis-informs Congress on the nature of covert ops, than he has violated a serious law.

The toleration of such behavior would weaken our domestic defense and set this country up with a very bad precedent that would give free license to any official to ignore the law of this land. It would set the stage for corrupt officials to put in place secret plots to overthrow this very country. Can anyone imagine that? I can.

For as much respect as I have for Cheney - I do not think he is an evil man. Just a misguided man - even so this is a serious breach of checks and balances of this country the likes of have never been seen before.

If a government cannot face accountability to its people, than its people will not face its government.

[dylan915]

Cheney has proven to be the most evil man in recent history. He mastered the invasion of Iraq where tens of thousands of people were killed in the most brutal bombings on any civilization since world war two.
He has no soul. He's a leather heart monster who I wish could sent to prison for life and water boarded every day until there's not an ounce of life left in him. He shames humanity. He is a vulgar, corrupt serphant and he will get what's coming to him somewhere in eternity.
How could anyone be surprised that he's involved in any covert CIA plot ? The guy thrives on deception.
He's Bush's hit man. He's America's deepest shame !

[hamiltongrad]

Have you taken your meds ?