CIA Director Leon Panetta told the House Intelligence Committee that the agency had misled and “concealed significant actions from all members of Congress” dating back to 2001 and continuing until late June, according to a letter from seven Democrats on the panel.
The letter was dated June 26, two days after Panetta appeared before a closed door session with the committee and it asked that the CIA chief “correct” his statement from May 15 that “it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress.”
(Panetta Admits CIA Misled Congress on “Significant Actions”, CQ Politics, 07/09/09)
Not to feed all the “What change” anti-Obamacans, but I think both Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann had pieces on Wednesday night regarding the White House’s threat to veto a bill that was to be on the House floor yesterday. The bill would have required the CIA to include the House Intelligence Committee in high-level briefings, not just the “gang of eight” which included the chairs of the Intelligence Committees and the House and Senate leadership. Typically, the briefing means a one-on-one conversation (not even the eight in a room together) during which the member of Congress is not allowed to take notes or confer with staff, and after which he or she cannot disclose any content to anyone, period. Secrets lead to lies.
One commentator called the current system “a checkbox, not oversight.”
Really the Leon Panetta kerfuffle and the letter from the Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee is about defending Nancy Pelosi’s assertion that she was not fully briefed on waterboarding.
NanuqFC
The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. – MLK, Jr.