AIG

Financial Crisis Panel Will Probe AIG Bailouts, Says Chair

Zachary Roth | July 22, 2009, 12:26PM

The man who will lead the special congressional effort to probe the causes of the financial crisis says his panel will also consider the government's response to the events of last fall -- including the controversial serial bailouts of AIG.

In an interview with TPMmuckraker, Phil Angelides, the former California treasurer who was recently named by Congress to chair the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, noted that the statute that created his panel required it to look not just at the financial institutions that failed, but also at those that would have failed but for massive government intervention. That means that "it's going to be hard not to touch on those issues," said Angelides, referring to the various AIG bailouts -- which some have portrayed as disingenuous backdoor efforts to save AIG counterparties like Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch from the consequences of their bad bets -- as well as other moves by the government to prevent a wider collapse of the financial sector.

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John Murtha

Murtha, Visclosky, PMA, Kuchera: What's Going On?

Zachary Roth | June 15, 2009, 3:53PM

Rep. John Murtha has long been on good-government groups' lists of the most corrupt lawmakers in Washington. But in recent months, the veteran Pennsylvania Democratic powerbroker has been under particularly intense scrutiny for his ties to two companies that are each the targets of federal investigations.

So it's worth taking a moment to consider what's going on in each case, and what it all amounts to.

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PMA

Hoyer: PMA Issue "Ought To Be Looked At"

Zachary Roth | June 4, 2009, 1:50PM

Rep. Steny Hoyer wants an ethics probe of lawmakers' ties to PMA.

Yesterday, the House number two pushed through a resolution requiring the Ethics committee to disclose whether it's investigating members who took money from the now-defunct lobbying firm. And speaking at a breakfast event today, reports The Hill, Hoyer made clear that the true intent of the measure was a declaration that "this is a serious matter and ought to be looked at." He also said Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported the move.

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Directs That Lawmakers' Expenses Be Posted Online

Zachary Roth | June 3, 2009, 2:11PM

It's been tough times for investigative journalists lately. But is Speaker Nancy Pelosi coming to the rescue?

In a letter to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House posted on her blog, the Speaker has directed that the quarterly disbursement statements of members of the House be posted online. The statements document the expenditures of every congressional office. Currently, they're only available by going in person to Congress's Legislative Resource Center.

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Pete Visclosky

Visclosky Hands Off Key Bill, Citing PMA Probe

Zachary Roth | June 2, 2009, 2:27PM

It looks like Rep. Pete Visclosky is starting to pay a political price for his ties to the now-defunct PMA lobbying firm.

Last week, we told you that the Feds have subpoenaed the Indiana congressman for documents relating to the firm. And now Visclosky has announced that he'll hand off to a colleague responsibility for a key appropriations bill on the subcommittee he chairs.

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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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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

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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Nancy Pelosi

In Savaging Pelosi For "Attacking" CIA, GOP Ignores Its Own Record Of Similar Attacks

Zachary Roth | May 20, 2009, 1:08PM

We really shouldn't have to do this. As we've said before, the idea that it's some kind of outlandish and unconscionable slur to point out that the CIA -- the CIA, for chrissakes! -- can sometimes be economical with the truth is absurd on its face. But the Republican attacks on Nancy Pelosi for daring to make that claim just keep coming, so it looks like we're going to have to point this out:

Shocking as it sounds, the GOP hasn't always been so sensitive about harsh criticism of the CIA -- including leveling the charge that the CIA is being deliberately deceptive -- when it's served the party's political interest.

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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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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

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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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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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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AIPAC

Hastert: Source Said Negroponte Blocked Me From Getting Briefed On Harman Wiretap

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2009, 12:29PM

The Jane-Harman/AIPAC story is only getting more interesting.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has gone on the record with information that suggests a broader effort than we'd yet been aware of by the Bush administration to keep secret the fact that it had wiretapped a member of Congress.

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Alberto Gonzales

Did Harman Break The Law?

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2009, 4:03PM

We've been wondering about something on this whole Jane-Harman/AIPAC story. (For the background, go here.)

When the Justice Department heard Harman on the wiretap, and as a result started to investigate her (a probe later reportedly shut down by Alberto Gonzales), what was the underlying crime she was suspected of, and how strong does the case against her appear to have been?

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Alberto Gonzales

Report: Angry Intel Officers Tipped Pelosi To Harman Wiretap

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2009, 11:18AM

Another day, another advance by CQ's Jeff Stein on his Harman-AIPAC story...

Late last night, Stein reported that, after Alberto Gonzales quashed the FBI probe into Rep. Harman for political reasons, intelligence officials, angry about Gonzo's move, told Nancy Pelosi about the wiretap that had picked up Harman talking to a suspected Israeli agent -- defying the AG's order that Pelosi not be informed.

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Jane Harman

Rep. Harman Wiretapped? Or Overheard On A Wiretap?

Brian Beutler | April 22, 2009, 4:03PM

Was Rep. Jane Harman wiretapped? Or was she simply overheard in a conversation with somebody whose phone was wiretapped? If the former, it would be a bombshell, and if you read this piece from Roll Call--titled "Pelosi Knew About Harman Wiretap--you might infer that she was. The article reports that, at Christian Science Monitor lunch with reporters, "Pelosi said she was not told what federal eavesdroppers picked up on the call -- and never alerted Harman to it."

"It was not my position to raise it with Jane Harman," Pelosi told reporters at the Christian Science Monitor lunch. "In fact, I didn't even know if what they were talking about was real. All they said was that she was wiretapped."

Though the full truth is hard to ascertain, the entire context of Pelosi's remarks suggest this was more a case of slipped tongue than spilled beans.

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AIPAC

Harman-AIPAC: The Latest Developments

Zachary Roth | April 22, 2009, 3:48PM

Some recent developments in the fast-moving Harman-AIPAC story to update you on...

- Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she was briefed "a few years ago" by the NSA that they had wiretapped Harman, but wasn't told what was found, and never alerted Harman.

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Alberto Gonzales

Harman: "If There Are Tapes Out There, Bring It On!"

Zachary Roth | April 21, 2009, 1:19PM

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) just appeared on MSNBC to give a guns blazing denial of the allegations in CQ's explosive report from yesterday.

The congresswoman, speaking to Andrea Mitchell, reiterated her claim that she didn't intervene with anyone -- not the Justice Department, or the White House -- in the AIPAC case. And she renewed her call for DOJ to disclose all the material associated with the investigation into her that, according to CQ's report, Alberto Gonzales helped stymie.

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