CIA

Source: CIA Dissembles In Briefings

Zachary Roth | May 26, 2009, 6:32PM

Yet more evidence that the CIA may not have been totally up front with Nancy Pelosi during that contested torture briefing from 2002...

A former "deep-cover" CIA operative tells CQ's Jeff Stein that agency briefers often hide facts or shade the truth. "They mumble, they dissemble, and there's a lot of 'on the one hand... '" said the operative, who has written harsh critiques of the CIA, under the pen-name Ishmael Jones.

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Alberto Gonzales

Report: Gonzo, Then At White House, Signed Off On CIA Torture In 2002

Zachary Roth | May 22, 2009, 1:22PM

For a while now, it's been clear that, as former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan testified earlier this month, Abu Zubaydah was tortured well before the Justice Department issued its first opinion approving enhanced interrogation techniques in August 2002.

So we've been wondering about the procedure by which that treatment was authorized. And it looks like a crucial new report from NPR may have offered an answer.

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CIA

House Rejects Effort to Probe Pelosi On CIA Claim

Zachary Roth | May 21, 2009, 5:05PM

That GOP effort to get a congressional investigation into Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA lied to her about torture? Looks like it didn't get too far.

The Associated Press reports that the House voted by 252-172 to block the measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah. Two GOPers, Ron Paul of Texas and Walter Jones of North Carolina, joined Democrats in voting against it.

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CIA

How Cheney Turned A Right-Wing Meme Mainstream

Zachary Roth | May 21, 2009, 2:21PM

It looks like we've figured out what Dick Cheney meant when he said President Obama has "reserved unto himself" the right to order enhanced interrogation techniques.

In February the Wall Street Journal reported (sub. req.) :

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Dick Cheney

Was Cheney Talking About Obama's Executive Order?

Zachary Roth | May 21, 2009, 12:52PM

We asked earlier about what Dick Cheney might have been referring to when he said President Obama had reserved the right to order enhanced interrogation when he deems it appropriate.

Could Cheney have been referring to this passage from Obama's executive order on interrogations?

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CIA

CIA Briefing Document Lists Goss As Congressman -- Even Though He Was CIA Director At The Time

Zachary Roth | May 21, 2009, 10:27AM

Another day, another indication that the CIA briefings document that Republicans are currently trying to bludgeon Nancy Pelosi with is deeply flawed and unreliable.

The Associated Press yesterday spotted *(see late update below) two clear new errors in the document -- including one real howler we're kicking ourselves for not spotting ourselves:

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Arlen Specter

Specter: "CIA Has A Very Bad Record When It Comes To ... Honesty"

Zachary Roth | May 20, 2009, 3:36PM

Support for Nancy Pelosi -- and for our point that questioning the CIA's honesty isn't really too radical a position -- has come from a perhaps unlikely new source.

The Hill reports that Arlen Specter, the new Democrat who as a Republican chaired the Senate intelligence committee, told a luncheon audience at the American Law Institute: "The CIA has a very bad record when it comes to -- I was about to say candid, that's too mild -- to honesty."

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CIA

Hoekstra: It's Wrong To Call CIA Liars -- Except When I Do It

Zachary Roth | May 19, 2009, 5:34PM

We told you earlier this afternoon about how Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who has called Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA lied to her "outrageous," has himself initiated a probe into whether the agency misled lawmakers about a 2001 shooting incident in Peru that caused the death of an American citizen.

And it looks like Hoekstra's hypocrisy goes even further. Think Progress points out that Hoekstra last night went on Fox News, where he explained to Greta Van Susteren that it's fine to criticize the CIA's performance, but not to accuse it of lying:

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CIA

CIA: Like We Said Before, Briefing Document Could Be Wrong

Zachary Roth | May 19, 2009, 3:23PM

The CIA has given another indication that the briefing document with which Republicans are trying to attack Nancy Pelosi is unreliable.

Yesterday, Rep. David Obey sent a letter to CIA director Leon Panetta pointing out yet another apparent error in the document. The Washington Independent's Spencer Ackerman asked CIA for a response to Obey's claim, and got the following statement:

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CIA

Lawmaker: CIA Already Being Probed For Misleading Congress

Zachary Roth | May 19, 2009, 2:25PM

As they go after Nancy Pelosi over those CIA briefings, Republicans have been putting the burden of proof on the Speaker, suggesting that it's all but unheard of for the CIA to mislead others in government. But in fact, the agency is currently being probed for doing exactly that on a different issue -- and the effort was initiated by one of Pelosi's fiercest critics on the torture briefings kerfuffle.

Last night, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who chairs the oversight subcommittee of the House intelligence committee, told MSNBC's Ed Schultz (h/t Democratic Underground):

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CIA

UPDATED: Source: "EIT" Term Wasn't In Use When Pelosi Was Briefed

Zachary Roth | May 19, 2009, 12:27PM

Here's yet another reason (as if more were needed) to doubt that that CIA briefings document perfectly reflects what lawmakers were told about torture back in the early days of the war on terror.

Almost every briefing described in the document -- including the September 2002 Pelosi briefing that's directly at issue -- refers to "EITs," or enhanced interrogation techniques, as a subject that was discussed. But according to a former intelligence professional who has participated in such briefings, that term wasn't used until at least 2006* (see correction below).

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CIA

Another Lawmaker Points To An Error In CIA Briefings Doc

Zachary Roth | May 19, 2009, 11:43AM

Here's yet more evidence -- as if it were needed -- that that CIA briefing document that Republicans are trying to hang around Nancy Pelosi's neck is hardly a reliable source of information.

Rep. David Obey, who chairs the appropriations committee, just sent the following letter to CIA director Leon Panetta:

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CIA

Pelosi Expresses "Respect" For "Men And Women Of The Intelligence Community"

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 6:14PM

Here's a statement just put out by Nancy Pelosi, which seems designed to turn down the heat on her claim that the CIA lied to her about torture, but doesn't back off the claim:

Pelosi Statement on Panetta Message to CIA Employees

We all share great respect for the dedicated men and women of the intelligence community who are deeply committed to the safety and security of the American people. My criticism of the manner in which the Bush Administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe. What is important now is to be united in our commitment to ensuring the security of our country; that, and how Congress exercises its oversight responsibilities, will continue to be my focus as we move forward.

CIA

Panetta: It's Up To Congress To Figure Out Whether Our Records Are Accurate

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 3:09PM

CIA director Leon Panetta has just sent the following message to staffers in response to Nancy Pelosi's claim that the agency misled her over torture:

Message from the Director: Turning Down the Volume

There is a long tradition in Washington of making political hay out of our business. It predates my service with this great institution, and it will be around long after I'm gone. But the political debates about interrogation reached a new decibel level yesterday when the CIA was accused of misleading Congress.

Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values. As the Agency indicated previously in response to Congressional inquiries, our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing "the enhanced techniques that had been employed." Ultimately, it is up to Congress to evaluate all the evidence and reach its own conclusions about what happened.

My advice--indeed, my direction--to you is straightforward: ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission. We have too much work to do to be distracted from our job of protecting this country.

We are an Agency of high integrity, professionalism, and dedication. Our task is to tell it like it is--even if that's not what people always want to hear. Keep it up. Our national security depends on it. (our itals)

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Nancy Pelosi

Wilkerson On CIA: "There's A Bent To The Way They're Briefing"

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 11:22AM

Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA mislead her in torture briefings has received support from a new source: Larry Wilkerson, the retired US Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Colin Powell.

Wilkerson told TPMmuckraker that he's been present for similar CIA briefings, and that the agency briefs only "very limitedly," and "very selectively."

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Torture

Focus Shifting To Evidence Bushies Ordered Torture To Boost Case For Iraq War

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 6:21PM

At last, the torture debate looks to be heading toward what's been the big question lurking in the background all along: was the Bush administration using torture in large part to make a political case for the invasion of Iraq?

Writing on The Daily Beast, former NBC producer Robert Windrem reports that in April 2003, Dick Cheney's office suggested that interrogators waterboard an Iraqi detainee who was suspected of having knowledge of a link between Saddam and al Qaeda.

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CIA

Watch The Pelosi Presser

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 3:25PM

Here's the full video of that remarkable 19 and a half minute appearance by Nancy Pelosi this morning, in which she reads a statement and then takes questions -- and accuses the CIA of lying to Congress about torture.

Watch:

CIA

CIA Denies Cheney's Request To Declassify Torture Docs

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 2:38PM

Dick Cheney's request to have declassified two CIA documents that he says will prove torture is effective has been denied.

In a letter obtained by both Steven Hayes of The Weekly Standard and Greg Sargent of the Plumline, the CIA wrote to the National Archives that saying that the documents are the subject of the a Freedom of Information Act request, and therefore can't be released.

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CIA

Boehner: Lie? The CIA? That's Crazy Talk!

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 2:02PM

House Republican Leader John Boehner says it's "hard for me imagine" that the CIA would ever mislead Congress, as Nancy Pelosi has claimed.

Watch:

Yes, we too would be shocked to learn that our nation's spy agency is ever less than entirely forthcoming.

Nancy Pelosi

Is Pelosi Tying Torture Program To Push For Iraq War?

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 12:19PM

Here's a very interesting line from the statement Nancy Pelosi just gave:

We also now know that techniques, including waterboarding, had already been employed, and that those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information.

At the same time, the Bush Administration was misleading the American people about the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. (our itals)

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi: CIA Lied To Congress About Torture

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 11:37AM

Nancy Pelosi has accused the CIA of lying to Congress about torture.

In a press conference given amid questions on what she knew and when about the Bush administration's torture program, Pelosi said that she was explicitly told in her September 2002 briefing that waterboarding was not used. We've since learned that Abu Zubaydah had been waterboarded 83 times by then.

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Torture

What's Behind CIA Decision To Release Torture Briefings Document?

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 4:14PM

On the issue of the torture briefings, is the main story starting to give way to the back story?

Here's what we mean:

The main story, reduced to its key elements, is that by the end of 2003, it seems clear that Nancy Pelosi and other top Dems had learned that we had water-boarded detainees. Whether Pelosi did enough in response to that information, or whether she was legitimately constrained by congressional protocol and by the atmosphere of fear that prevailed at the time is a matter for debate.

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Jay Rockefeller

Rockefeller: CIA Doc Is Wrong -- Agency Never Briefed Me Individually

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 11:48AM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office has released a new statement on what he was and wasn't told by the CIA about torture.

Says Rockefeller, referring to the CIA document released last week:

We are not in a position to vouch for the accuracy of the document. We can tell you that in the particular entry stating that Senator Rockefeller was briefed on February 4th of 2003 with an asterisk also noting him as later individually briefed -- that is not correct, or at least is not being reported correctly by people reading the document. The Democratic staff director attended a briefing on Feb. 4, but Senator Rockefeller was not present and was not later briefed individually by anyone in the intelligence community. He was first personally briefed by the intelligence community on Sept 4th, 2003.

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Camp: She Didn't Sign Torture Protest Letter Out Of Respect For "Appropriate" Channels

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 11:00AM

Some progress in the debate over what Nancy Pelosi knew about torture and when she knew it...

The Pelosi camp is now telling The Politico that Pelosi learned in early 2003 that we were waterboarding detainees, but took no real action out of respect for "appropriate" legislative channels.

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Torture

Bob Graham: I Don't Recall Being Briefed On Waterboarding

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 4:13PM

Bob Graham, the Democratic former Florida senator, has said he has no memory of being told in a briefing about waterboarding or other harsh interrogation techniques, as a recently released CIA document indicates.

Graham told Greg Sargent this afternoon: "I do not have any recollection of being briefed on waterboarding or other forms of extraordinary interrogation techniques, or Abu Zubaydah being subjected to them."

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Dick Cheney

Is The Most Forceful Advocate For Probing Torture ... Dick Cheney?

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 12:22PM

This goes way beyond strange bedfellows. But it looks like Dick Cheney has emerged as the single most forceful proponent of a full investigation of the Bush administration's torture policies.

In an interview on CBS's Face The Nation yesterday, the ex-veep claimed, as he has before, that the Obama administration's rejection of torture has made us less safe. But he also went further ever in repeatedly arguing -- contra congressional Republicans -- that we need to look back at the details of the torture program before moving forward.

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Torture

Report: CIA Fought For Sleep Deprivation

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 10:44AM

More fallout from the release of the torture memos.

The Los Angeles Times reports that sleep deprivation was "one of the most important elements in the CIA's interrogation program, used to help break dozens of suspected terrorists, far more than the most violent approaches." It was also "among the methods the agency fought hardest to keep."

In fact, former CIA director Michael Hayden reportedly (and unsuccessfully) lobbied the White House not to expose its use by releasing the memos that described it, asking: "Are you telling me that under all conditions of threat, you will never interfere with the sleep cycle of a detainee?"

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Nancy Pelosi

Record Suggests Pelosi Did Little In Response To Torture Briefing

Zachary Roth | May 8, 2009, 4:55PM

As we said before: Whatever the specifics of exactly what was and wasn't said during the September 2002 CIA briefing that Nancy Pelosi received about enhanced interrogation techniques, it seems clear that she was given enough information to conclude that we either had already conducted waterboarding and other harsh techniques, or that we very well might in the near future.

So the more important question, which seems to be getting less attention today, is what Pelosi did in response. And the short answer appears to be: very little.

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Nancy Pelosi

Hoekstra Spokesman: Docs Will Show Pelosi Was Briefed On Waterboarding

Zachary Roth | May 8, 2009, 3:58PM

So Nancy Pelosi has again denied that she was briefed on the fact that we had already committed waterbaording.

But now a spokesman for Pete Hoekstra, the chair of the House intelligence committee, seems to be telling Greg Sargent that as-yet-unreleased documents will prove once and for all that she was.

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Points To Panetta Letter Warning Descriptions Of Briefings May Be Inaccurate

Zachary Roth | May 8, 2009, 2:31PM

Greg Sargent has noted that the cover letter sent by CIA director Leon Panetta to accompany the release of the documents on torture briefings, in which Panetta cautions that the descriptions of the briefings may be inaccurate.

And now Nancy Pelosi is pointing out the same thing.

In a blog post on the Speaker's site, she reiterates that the September 2002 briefing was the only one she received on enhanced interrogation techniques, then writes:

As reported in the press, a cover letter from CIA Director Panetta accompanying the briefings memo released this week concedes that the descriptions provided by the CIA may not be accurate.

Jay Rockefeller

Docs Show Rockefeller Was Briefed On "How The Water Board Was Used"

Zachary Roth | May 8, 2009, 12:31PM

The hot story of the morning is the release of CIA documents appearing to show that Nancy Pelosi was briefed on "enhanced interrogation techniques" in September 2002. Things have already descended into a he-said she-said debate -- literally -- over exactly what Pelosi was told, and whether the new information contradicts what she'd said in the past.

But let's set that aside for a second, because according to the documents, it was another Democratic lawmaker who received the first briefing whose summary in the newly released document specifically mentions waterboarding -- the technique that has been at the center of the controversy, especially for Pelosi lately.

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Jane Harman

Report: Top Gossling Pushed To Declassify Info To "Embarrass The Democrats"

Zachary Roth | May 6, 2009, 12:20PM

The other day we took a look at the modus operandi of the team of aides around Porter Goss. The Gosslings, as they were known to their many detractors, developed a reputation, both on the House intelligence committee and at the CIA, for partisan knife-fighting and a willingness to do the bidding of the Bush White House.

In recent days, there's been speculation -- though only speculation -- that the Gosslings may have been involved in the leak to CQ about Rep. Jane Harman's wiretapped conversation with a suspected Israeli agent.

But there was one interesting story we missed in that roundup. In November 2004, Newsweek reported on the clash between top Gossling Patrick Murray, and Steve Kappes, a high-ranking CIA official, which led to Kappes's resignation. We've noted that incident before, of course, but the Newsweek story had a particularly interesting passage about the way that Murray -- who was Goss's chief of staff at CIA -- operated while he was a top Goss staffer on the committee.

Reported the magazine:

"He was just impossible," says one staffer who dealt with him. "He was sarcastic, snide and had this uncanny ability to push people's buttons." One former CIA official told NEWSWEEK that Murray leaned on him more than once to declassify information so he could use it to "embarrass the Democrats." Murray was irritated when the agency declined. He regarded much of the CIA as a nest of obstructionist bureaucrats, time-servers who had schemed to undermine the administration's policies--especially in Iraq.

Again, it's worth repeating that there's no solid evidence that Murray, or any of the other Gosslings, were behind the leak. But at the very least, the Newsweek story offers additional evidence of just what kind of political hardball the Gosslings were capable of playing.

AIPAC

Parsing Goss's Role In The Harman Story

Zachary Roth | May 5, 2009, 12:37PM

It's worth trying to clear up some of the confusion on a key point that came out of yesterday's post.

We wrote that, after reading the transcript of Jane Harman's wiretapped conversation with the suspected Israeli agent, then-CIA director Porter Goss signed off on the Justice Department's application for a FISA warrant to wiretap Harman herself.

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AIPAC

Secrecy Expert: Harman Leakers Likely Committed Felony

Zachary Roth | May 4, 2009, 6:08PM

Did the people -- whoever they may be -- who leaked details about Rep. Jane Harman's wiretapped conversation with a suspected Israeli agent, break the law?

The law quite clearly prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of classified information "concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government." And Steven Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy, confirmed to TPMmuckraker: "It seems crystal clear that if this was a FISA wiretap," as appears to be the case, "then whoever disclosed it committed a felony."

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AIPAC

Who Are The Gosslings?

Zachary Roth | May 1, 2009, 3:50PM

In recent days, speculation about who leaked to CQ the news about Jane Harman's wiretapped conversation with a suspected Israel agent has seemed to focus on former CIA director Porter Goss -- or, more precisely, the group of Goss aides known as the Gosslings.

So we thought it was worth taking a closer look at this crew. And it looks like they have quite a reputation...

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