CIA Lied To Congress On Orders From Cheney

Sundays New York Times reports that for eight years Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress about an as-yet-unidentified counter-terrorism program.

Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.

The 1947 National Security Act allows for some leeway as to under what circumstances information can be concealed from Congress. But this further validates Nancy Pelosi’s claims that she was not told the whole truth about waterboarding.  However, the CIA is claiming the program in question here did not involve harsh interrogation techniques.  And, we can believe them, right?

Democrats in Congress, who contend that the Bush administration improperly limited Congressional briefings on intelligence, are seeking to change the National Security Act to permit the full intelligence committees to be briefed on more matters. President Obama, however, has threatened to veto the intelligence authorization bill if the changes go too far, and the proposal is now being negotiated by the White House and the intelligence committees.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.