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.

[Grampa Dave]

“Obama started this with the (selective release of info )...”

Which is why asked if Rhombo is trying to throw her under 0b0z0’s bus.

[Arrowhead1952]

How many different versions does this make? Six? Eight?

I think this is version 8.5.2 or higher.

I think the madam speaker is telling one lie to cover up for the last lie that was a cover for the previous lie and another lie to cover up for the one she told and another lie to cover up for the one she told before and another lie to cover up for the one she told previous to that last week that covered up the other one she told last week and that one covered up the first lie.

Or something like that.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Boy,...it's not clear at all....but the fact this article appeared in the LA Times says that MSM is either being encouraged to broadcast the story or simply has decided it has become too big to try to hide it....also found this from the 8th at CNN:

CIA says Pelosi knew about waterboarding; she says no

**********************EXCERPT************************

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is disputing a CIA account sent to Congress that raises questions about her insistence she was never told explicitly that waterboarding had been used on terrorist suspects. >

Pelosi told reporters last month that she was told about the legal justification for the interrogation techniques.

The CIA-prepared memo, provided to CNN by Republican sources, lists 40 briefings for members of Congress from September 2002 to March 2009. The first briefing on the list -- on September 4, 2002 -- was for then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss and Pelosi, then the ranking Democrat on the committee.

The subject of the briefing is listed as EITs, or enhanced interrogation techniques, "including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities, and a description of the particular EITs that had been employed."

CIA Director Leon Panetta, in cover letters sent with the memo to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, says the information "is drawn from the past files of the CIA and represents MFR [memorandum for the record] completed at the time and notes that summarized the best recollections of those individuals. In the end, you and the committee will have to determine what actually happened."

[Cheetahcat]

“They should waterboard her until she “remembers”.

Amen!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the thread linked at #39:

[lilylangtree]

She’s a politician and a corrupt one at that. She lies for a living.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This goes with the image at post #45.

And Panetta was Clinton Chief of Staff and didn't Rahn work under him?

8**********************************

CIA Director Leon Panetta, in cover letters sent with the memo to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, says the information "is drawn from the past files of the CIA and represents MFR [memorandum for the record] completed at the time and notes that summarized the best recollections of those individuals.

[colorado tanker]

I don’t think anyone outside San Fran believes her anymore. This is past ridiculous.

[Oldpuppymax]

Yes, of course Nan is a liar. But that’s the fault of republicans too! And the CIA. And especially Bush. And Cheney. And her maid was sick that day.

[dalereed]

“They should waterboard her until she “remembers”.”

Since the entire procedure is now common knowledge waterboarding is no longer torture!

I think bamboo spears under her finger nails would be more appropriate!

[Grampa Dave]

Interesting connection re Panetta and Rhambo.

Panetta probably has had a lot of sleepless nights and nightmares after he was vetted into the CIA and realizes the real danger we as a country were and are in from the Islamonazis.

The CIA has not been in their normal lay on their backs and spread their legs position during this waterboarding kerfunckle.

Maybe Panetta got to Rhambo and told him to tell 0b0z0 to protect the agency from the likes of Pelosi.

[pallis]

PELOSI IS A LIAR! LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LYING LIAR!

[Grampa Dave]

“Must be lying or Alzheimer’s is messing with her head.”

Maybe Botoxheimer’s?

[Grampa Dave]

“Dems Lack Waterboarding Exit Strategy”

It appears the Dems don’t want a Waterboard/CIA quagmire and may leave Pelosi in the quagmire.

[TigersEye]

Somebody needs to put together a video montage of Pelosi's progression of excuses (lies) over the last couple of weeks.

Hannity? O'Reilly? Beck? Anybody? Bueller?

[TigersEye]

Is Rhombo taking out Pelosi galore or just weakening her?

0bambi does seem to be consolidating a lot of power under his direct control. He has parceled out a lot of foreign policy duties leaving SecState Hillary without much to do. He put a civilian in control of the WH military office. The census in now under direct WH control. Banking industry. Auto industry.

Getting a sycophant of his in as Speaker of the House would certainly be useful to him.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Tar baby! Did you say “tar baby?!”

That’s racist!

;-)

[Grampa Dave]

“Getting a sycophant of his in as Speaker of the House would certainly be useful to him.”

Absolutely.

The last thing he wants now a self imploding POS, aka Pelosi, causing PR problems across the nation.

[TigersEye]

Very true. But not only that Pelosi is so high on her power that she can (and I believe has) opposed some of his agenda just to flex her muscles. She is double trouble for him. She’s an idiot with a big ego and she doesn’t owe him anything.

[Grampa Dave]

“Very true. But not only that Pelosi is so high on her power that she can (and I believe has) opposed some of his agenda just to flex her muscles. She is double trouble for him. She’s an idiot with a big ego and she doesn’t owe him anything.”

Pelosi has probably bragged to her bots that if she was president, she could do a better job than 0b0z0.

If she has and that ever got back to 0b0z0 and Rhombo, they would set her up and let her destroy herself with her own words out of her mouth. Which she seems to be doing. She is waterboarding herself in public.