Yesterday, Judicial Watch, a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law, received the first batch of documents from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) regarding congressional “Torture Briefings.” The CIA produced the documents pursuant to a previous court order in Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the CIA (Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency, Case: 1:09-cv-01352).
The documents show that Speaker Pelosi was briefed about CIA “torture” methods on terrorist detainees, including waterboarding, back in April 2002.
But, that isn’t what Speaker Pelosi said last year:
FOX News last night reported on the obtained documents:
The documents show Pelosi was briefed about “ongoing interrogations of Abu Zubaydah” on April 24, 2002, just weeks after the top Al Qaeda suspect was captured in Pakistan. Previously, Pelosi asserted the 2002 briefing covered only “interrogation techniques the administration was considering using in the future.”
Last May, Pelosi accused the CIA of lying to her and other lawmakers about enhanced interrogation techniques used by the agency on terrorism suspects known as high-value detainees. Waterboarding, a simulated form of drowning, is one of the tactics interrogators used to coax information out of the suspects. Its use drew severe criticism because the United States has abstained from it in past conflicts.
Last year, Pelosi said she was only briefed once on the advanced interrogation methods, in September 2002. At the time, Pelosi was the House Minority Whip and top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. She said in May 2009 that CIA briefers told her that “the use of enhanced interrogation techniques were legal,” and added that waterboarding “was not being employed.”
CIA records show that during the September 2002 briefing, Pelosi and others were given “a description of the particular enhanced interrogation techniques that had been employed” on Zubaydah. The U.S. was already waterboarding Zubaydah by that point. CIA officials said they believed agency briefers had indeed informed Pelosi that Zubaydah was undergoing waterboarding sessions.
But, here is how the Reuters reported on what Pelosi knew about the advanced interrogation techniques:
The CIA briefed lawmakers as it began seeking expanded authority for the interrogation program. Current House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then minority whip, attended a briefing on Abu Zubaydah’s interrogation April 24, 2002, along with seven other members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the documents show.
The CIA did not begin using the interrogation techniques until after receiving legal guidance from the Department of Justice in August 2002.
Pelosi, who became House Democratic leader in late 2002, said at a news conference in April last year that she was never told at the time that simulated drowning — or waterboarding — and other harsh interrogation techniques were being used. She said she was only told the CIA had legal opinions that approved harsh interrogation methods.
Hayden, in his 2007 statement for the Senate Select Committee, said as the CIA began implementing the interrogation program in 2002 “the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, the speaker, and the minority leader of the House, and the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees were fully briefed on the interrogation procedures.“
Finally, here is what Judicial Watch reported on the obtained documents:
According to the documents, previously marked “Top Secret,” between 2001 and 2007, the CIA briefed at least 68 members of Congress on the CIA interrogation program, including so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.” The documents include the dates of all congressional briefings and, in some cases, the members of Congress in attendance and the specific subjects discussed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who previously denied she was briefed by the CIA on the use of these techniques, is specifically referenced in a briefing that took place on April 24, 2002, regarding the “ongoing interrogations of Abu Zubaydah.” Zubaydah had been subjected to the enhanced interrogation techniques.
So, now we know…
** Speaker Pelosi was briefed about “ongoing” interrogations of Abu Zubaydah on April 24, 2002.
** Last year, in 2009, Pelosi said she was only briefed once on the advanced interrogation methods, in September 2002.
** During the September 2002 briefing, Pelosi and others were given “a description of the particular enhanced interrogation techniques that had been employed” on Zubaydah.
** House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is specifically referenced in a briefing that took place on April 24, 2002, regarding the “ongoing interrogations of Abu Zubaydah.”
But, Reuters covered for the lying Pelosi and refuses to report the whole story. The AP did not mention that Speaker Pelosi said she was only briefed once on the techniques in September 2002. The documents show that she was briefed more than once and that she knew about “ongoing interrogations” as far back as April 2002.
It’s obvious from the reports at Judicial Watch and from earlier statements by Speaker Pelosi that the AP is covering for the democrat. Do you think Reuters would be so forgiving if the Speaker was a Republican? …Of course not.
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