Pelosi denies being informed about waterboarding

Los Angeles Times ^ | 10:14 AM PDT, May 14, 2009 | Michael Muskal

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The House speaker says the Bush administration deliberately misled Congress. GOP says Democrats were told.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has become a lightning rod for GOP criticism on the issue of enhanced interrogation of terror suspects, denied today that she was told waterboarding was used on detainees and insisted that the Bush administration had deliberately misled lawmakers.

In a televised news conference, Pelosi accused the CIA of misrepresenting what was going on with the questioning of terrorism suspects when intelligence officials briefed legislators on the Intelligence Committee in 2002. At the time, Pelosi was the ranking Democrat.

"We were told that they had legal opinions that it was legal and were not told about other legal opinions to the contrary," Pelosi said of the briefings. "We were told specifically that waterboarding was not being used."

Pelosi said she learned later from other members of Congress about the CIA use of waterboarding. "I wasn't briefed. I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it," she said.

The issue of who knew what about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques has become a political firestorm. Republicans, led in recent days by former Vice President Dick Cheney, have generally backed the use of "enhanced" interrogation methods on terrorist suspects.

When Democrats complained and called for investigations that could lead to criminal charges against top Bush administration officials, Republicans have countered that the techniques were approved by Democrats like Pelosi. In effect, Republicans have threatened to turn the issue into an attack on leading Democrats, implying that they too could face charges.

[MeekOneGOP]

Lunacy brought to you by ... Nan

Great photoshop, SB !!

[Seadog Bytes]

Thank you. I am betting she’ll weasel out of this somehow.

[PhilDragoo]

[piasa]

In one statement she said her top security ‘aide’ was briefed but didn't tell her till 5 months later.

And it just so happens that 6 months after her aide was briefed the "secret prisons" list of detainees was leaked.

[MeekOneGOP]

I am rooting for her to lose her “second in line”
for the Presidency spot!

Boot her from her House Speaker seat !!!

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL!!

Perfect, Phil!

I love it ...

[MeekOneGOP]

[MeekOneGOP]

THERE is Steny Hoyer and Nancy “Politburo” Pelosi!

[MeekOneGOP]

The CIA is gonna FRY Pelosi. Call the CIA liars ???
When they have PILES of PROOF of what they told her??

Whoopsie !!!

[Texas resident]

nobama started this with the selective release of info. Can’t wait to see the pictures of pelosi in group shots and her image erased, like Stalin used to do.
Obama is Kenyan for Stalin.

[Grampa Dave]

"Obama is Kenyan for Stalin."

Just call him DICK:

[potlatch]

Funny how things like that just ‘happen’, huh?!