MioMyo
2009-07-14 12:10:34 UTC
Although failing, dems are attempting to redeem some credibility to their
estranged house speaker. But even if the demagogue witch hangs onto her
seat, she's damaged goods and an excellent poster reminder that democrats
are the out-of-control extremists in Washington.
In the end, the princess pelosi said the CIA lied by not telling her about
waterboarding, something the other briefed congress members DO NOT
corroborate. So all this twisting and obfuscation does not distract from the
fact, the lying bitch cannot back up or prove her allegation......
Either way, it's a win-win scenario for main stream Americans.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/with-pelosis-blessing-dems-push-ahead-with-probe-of-cia-2009-07-13.html
By Jared Allen
Posted: 07/13/09 07:34 PM [ET]
With their Speaker behind them, House Democrats are pushing ahead with plans
to hold a series of hearings investigating instances in which intelligence
officials may have misled members of Congress.
Senior Democratic aides said that a major announcement could come by the end
of week, but it was already clear on Monday that House Democrats are seizing
on weekend news reports that former Vice President Dick Cheney hid
information from Congress.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that the CIA, under the direction of
Cheney, developed a secret counterterrorism program and then was directed by
the vice president to conceal it from Congress.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the program was a classified
initiative to kill or capture al Qaeda operatives. Cheney has not commented
on the media reports.
Members of both the House and the Senate Intelligence committees learned
about the program last week, when CIA Director Leon Panetta told them in
classified hearings that he had just learned about the program and had
ordered it terminated.
But Panetta also told Democrats and Republicans on the Intelligence panels
that Cheney had directed his predecessors to conceal the program from all
members of Congress, even the so-called Gang of Eight House and Senate
leaders and top Intelligence committee members, who are directed under
federal law to receive regular intelligence briefings.
Senior congressional aides said Panetta's latest briefing angered members of
the panels, even though Panetta had only weeks prior admitted to members of
the Intelligence committees that the CIA had, under past directors, engaged
in obfuscation following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The latest development on Cheney has prodded some senior Democrats to begin
calling for hearings, which up until late last week had been something many
leading Democrats were hesitant to do.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday signaled that she would give
the House Intelligence Committee a green light to investigate incidents in
which the CIA misled or lied to Congress, including times when Cheney was
supposedly involved.
"I think that it behooves the committee to take whatever actions they
believe are necessary to get more information on that subject as to whether
the intelligence community was directed by the vice president to create a
program and intentionally withhold that information from Congress. And
further, if these same intelligence community people were asked, 'Is there
anything else we should know?' whether they said yes or whether they said
no," Pelosi told reporters.
Pelosi has previously used the line of looking forward instead of backwards
when pressed on other issues, such as impeaching President George W. Bush
and prosecuting Bush administration officials. But in the wake of the Cheney
reports, she is allowing her panel chairmen to act should they choose to do
so.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday said Congress should
"absolutely" investigate the fractured relationship between the intelligence
community and Congress.
But Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking Democrat in the upper
chamber, says some Democrats are getting ahead of themselves.
In an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on Monday, Schumer said if
there are egregious violations, they should be investigated.
"As for Vice President Cheney, frankly, everyone is jumping the gun,"
Schumer said. "We don't know enough."
After it was noted that other Democrats are calling for a probe of Cheney,
Schumer replied, "Different strokes for different folks."
In the lower chamber, two Intelligence panel Democrats - Rep. Jan Schakowsky
(D-Ill.), who heads the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and,
separately, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) - have already called for hearings.
Yet the panel's chairman, Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), has not publicly
said how he will handle those, and any other, requests.
"The chairman is reviewing the information and the options available to him
and consulting with the ranking member," said Courtney Littig, a spokeswoman
for the committee.
Prior to last week, when it was first made public that Panetta admitted
privately to past instances of misleading briefings, Democrats have had a
difficult time navigating the politics of the intelligence community's
transgressions.
After Pelosi first made the allegation that she had regularly been misled by
the CIA, she and Democrats were dogged by charges of making their own
questionable claims, which were levied relentlessly by Republicans who
demanded that Pelosi either prove her claims or apologize for them.
Democrats now believe further revelations about the degree to which the Bush
administration misled Congress are giving them political cover.
"I think it puts the focus back on the Bush administration," a Democratic
aide said. "The Republicans attempted to use this as an issue, but with more
and more evidence coming out about the Bush-Cheney administration
circumventing Congress completely, it shows it's a real red herring."
Pelosi on Monday said she only learned of Cheney's involvement through press
reports. Last week she told reporters that she likewise had only heard about
Panetta's admission that agency officials had repeatedly lied to Congress
through press reports.
That fact, a senior GOP aide said, will lead Republicans to continue to call
on Pelosi to provide details about how she was misled and when.
estranged house speaker. But even if the demagogue witch hangs onto her
seat, she's damaged goods and an excellent poster reminder that democrats
are the out-of-control extremists in Washington.
In the end, the princess pelosi said the CIA lied by not telling her about
waterboarding, something the other briefed congress members DO NOT
corroborate. So all this twisting and obfuscation does not distract from the
fact, the lying bitch cannot back up or prove her allegation......
Either way, it's a win-win scenario for main stream Americans.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/with-pelosis-blessing-dems-push-ahead-with-probe-of-cia-2009-07-13.html
By Jared Allen
Posted: 07/13/09 07:34 PM [ET]
With their Speaker behind them, House Democrats are pushing ahead with plans
to hold a series of hearings investigating instances in which intelligence
officials may have misled members of Congress.
Senior Democratic aides said that a major announcement could come by the end
of week, but it was already clear on Monday that House Democrats are seizing
on weekend news reports that former Vice President Dick Cheney hid
information from Congress.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that the CIA, under the direction of
Cheney, developed a secret counterterrorism program and then was directed by
the vice president to conceal it from Congress.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the program was a classified
initiative to kill or capture al Qaeda operatives. Cheney has not commented
on the media reports.
Members of both the House and the Senate Intelligence committees learned
about the program last week, when CIA Director Leon Panetta told them in
classified hearings that he had just learned about the program and had
ordered it terminated.
But Panetta also told Democrats and Republicans on the Intelligence panels
that Cheney had directed his predecessors to conceal the program from all
members of Congress, even the so-called Gang of Eight House and Senate
leaders and top Intelligence committee members, who are directed under
federal law to receive regular intelligence briefings.
Senior congressional aides said Panetta's latest briefing angered members of
the panels, even though Panetta had only weeks prior admitted to members of
the Intelligence committees that the CIA had, under past directors, engaged
in obfuscation following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The latest development on Cheney has prodded some senior Democrats to begin
calling for hearings, which up until late last week had been something many
leading Democrats were hesitant to do.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday signaled that she would give
the House Intelligence Committee a green light to investigate incidents in
which the CIA misled or lied to Congress, including times when Cheney was
supposedly involved.
"I think that it behooves the committee to take whatever actions they
believe are necessary to get more information on that subject as to whether
the intelligence community was directed by the vice president to create a
program and intentionally withhold that information from Congress. And
further, if these same intelligence community people were asked, 'Is there
anything else we should know?' whether they said yes or whether they said
no," Pelosi told reporters.
Pelosi has previously used the line of looking forward instead of backwards
when pressed on other issues, such as impeaching President George W. Bush
and prosecuting Bush administration officials. But in the wake of the Cheney
reports, she is allowing her panel chairmen to act should they choose to do
so.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday said Congress should
"absolutely" investigate the fractured relationship between the intelligence
community and Congress.
But Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking Democrat in the upper
chamber, says some Democrats are getting ahead of themselves.
In an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on Monday, Schumer said if
there are egregious violations, they should be investigated.
"As for Vice President Cheney, frankly, everyone is jumping the gun,"
Schumer said. "We don't know enough."
After it was noted that other Democrats are calling for a probe of Cheney,
Schumer replied, "Different strokes for different folks."
In the lower chamber, two Intelligence panel Democrats - Rep. Jan Schakowsky
(D-Ill.), who heads the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and,
separately, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) - have already called for hearings.
Yet the panel's chairman, Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), has not publicly
said how he will handle those, and any other, requests.
"The chairman is reviewing the information and the options available to him
and consulting with the ranking member," said Courtney Littig, a spokeswoman
for the committee.
Prior to last week, when it was first made public that Panetta admitted
privately to past instances of misleading briefings, Democrats have had a
difficult time navigating the politics of the intelligence community's
transgressions.
After Pelosi first made the allegation that she had regularly been misled by
the CIA, she and Democrats were dogged by charges of making their own
questionable claims, which were levied relentlessly by Republicans who
demanded that Pelosi either prove her claims or apologize for them.
Democrats now believe further revelations about the degree to which the Bush
administration misled Congress are giving them political cover.
"I think it puts the focus back on the Bush administration," a Democratic
aide said. "The Republicans attempted to use this as an issue, but with more
and more evidence coming out about the Bush-Cheney administration
circumventing Congress completely, it shows it's a real red herring."
Pelosi on Monday said she only learned of Cheney's involvement through press
reports. Last week she told reporters that she likewise had only heard about
Panetta's admission that agency officials had repeatedly lied to Congress
through press reports.
That fact, a senior GOP aide said, will lead Republicans to continue to call
on Pelosi to provide details about how she was misled and when.