GOP congressman (Darrell Issa) asks for probe of Pelosi-CIA charge

[sabra]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Republican congressman Wednesday asked the head of the FBI to investigate allegations that the CIA lied to Congress about the Bush administration's use of "alternative" interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists.

Rep. Darrell Issa, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, asked FBI director Robert Mueller whether the bureau was investigating that allegation and whether he could request a probe as a member of Congress. He said the claim, leveled last week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left him doubting whether "I can believe in the briefings I am receiving" from intelligence agencies.

"If CIA is lying to any of us -- and I have been briefed many times by them on the Intelligence Committee -- it puts me in a position of not being able to do my job properly," said Issa, R-California.

Pelosi made the charge in response to questions about what she was told about the use of the techniques, which critics say amounted to the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody. Her claim provoked a firestorm on Capitol Hill, with Republicans -- who generally defend the techniques -- blasting Pelosi and demanding she back up the allegation.

Mueller said he would check into whether Issa's request would be enough to launch an investigation.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/20/issa.pelosi/

[global1]

1. Have The Repugs Taken The Bait And Fallen Into The Trap?.....nt

[felinetta]

2. I say investigate Karen Hughes. She knows stuff and she worked with the White House!

[truebrit71]

3. This from the same douche that started the recall Gray Davis campaign thinking he would get the gop

nod to be the guv...

Hopefully this little ploy too will backfire on this car thief..

[Garbo 2004]

10. Yeah, he spent over a million of his own bucks to fund the recall & publicly cried when he realized

he wasn't the chosen one. Asshat.

It would be fitting if a Repub requested investigation confirms that the CIA's retrospective "memories" of the briefings don't jibe with what actually happened. It was a mistake to take on Bob Graham with his known habit of taking meticulous notes of everything he does all the time. LOL

And all this "who knew what when" stuff still doesn't override the fact that Congress wasn't the one issuing orders to use waterboarding and other torture techniques. With an administration issuing Exec Orders, findings and signing statements to override the Constitution and Congress, Bushco can't diffuse responsibility for their actions.

[Mz Pip]

4. Bring it on.

And be careful what you wish for.

[tabatha]

5. Yup.

Issa is an idiot.

[fascisthunter]

6. good... yes... let's investigate... EVERYTHING!

and then let's see where the chips fall because my hunch is the GOP is much more guilty than the democrats. So call his bluff...

[Spazito]

7. This is becoming more and more fascinating...

There has to be former Bush administration 'officials' who would love to use the 'duct tape and plastic' to shut these fools up. Issa and his ilk have not realized they DO NOT control the 'political environment' any more and they are shoveling coal into an already roaring fire and it is NOT a fire from which they will benefit.

[Iliyah]

9. I don't think this

is what the conservatives right wing nut cases truly wants.

But I'm all for it, as Bushie said "bring it on"

[Spazito]

15. Yep, bring it on indeed! n/t

[judesedit]

8. What a riot! I totally agree...along with Bush, Cheney and the rest of the war criminals

[JDPriestly]

11. If Pelosi remains in the House, then she is telling the truth.

She will leave if she is not. That is because she will completely lose credibility if it is learned that she lied. I give her the benefit of the doubt. The CIA can say things and remain anonymous. People are more hesitant to lie when they answer in public for the truth of what they say. So, without any other evidence, I tend to trust Pelosi on this one.

It is, however, possible that she was briefed and does not recall the briefing. She may not have really understood what was being said. We sometimes do not remember things we consider to be absurd or things that very much violate our expectations. In other words, sometimes we hear what we want to hear.

Even if Pelosi was told, she was not an accomplice, she was not complicit, she was not an accessory after the fact as I understand those terms defined by Black's Law Dictionary. She was bound by secrecy and had no power to do anything other than to begin the long process of passing yet another law clearly defining torture -- which the Bush administration would have fought and ultimately violated.

The fuss over Pelosi's role in this is a red herring. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld etc. should be investigated and if appropriate indicted. There are no two sides to the matter.

The whole argument about there being two sides to the matter reminds me of a conversation I had with my daughter's second grade teacher in Austria. They had just finished a lesson about the entry of the allied troops into Vienna -- in which nary a word was said about the reason for the allied troops' presence. In fact, based on the statements of my daughter I gathered that the teacher had condemned the troops' presence as if they were nasty intruders. I went to the school and expressed my concern to the teacher who responded that some of the children heard the other side of the story at home. I said what other side of the story?

The teacher did not answer my question. That is because there is no other side of the story when it comes to the kinds of crimes the NAZIs performed which were, albeit on a huge scale, no different than the abuses of power that we see in other milieus. There is no excuse for abuse of authority -- not in the home, not in the schools, not in the workplace, not in religious institutions, not in our legal system, not in our prisons, not in our police departments. No excuse whatsoever.

Conduct under color of authority of any kind should always be carefully limited to what is reasonable and humanly correct in a situation. We all make mistakes. We all have moments of weakness when we become angry and lose our tempers. But physical force should be a resort only in the case of imminent danger to ourselves or others. This is because our actions when we are in positions of power set the tone not only for our personal relationships but for our society.

When the United States tortures, it sets the tone for the whole world. It allows dictators, gangsters and criminals everywhere to justify their own resort to torture. There is no other side of the story on torture or the abuse of authority. It is absolutely unacceptable.

[Tempest]

12. They lied about three other Congressmen being briefed

The CIA won't look upon an investigation as a positive development.

[grantcart]

13. Fuck, I am agreeing with shit for brains Issa.

[rateyes]

14. For once I agree with Mr. Issa. Yes, let's investigate.

Let the light shine on all of it.

[Wizard777]

16. This should be done. If only to make it look like it's a crime to lie to Congress.

[Ian David]

17. If Woody had gone straight to the police, none of this would have happened. n/t

[santamargarita]

18. Another right-wing shithead heard from

:puke: