Monday, May 18, 2009

Republicans to Pelosi: "Put Up or Shut Up"

Top Republicans are demanding an apology from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or proof to back her claim that the CIA misled Congress about the use of harsh interrogation tactics.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says the CIA misled Congress about harsh interrogation tactics.

Pelosi last week said that she was briefed by the CIA on such techniques only once -- in September 2002 -- and that she was told at the time that techniques like waterboarding were not being used.

Pelosi, D-California, said she learned from an aide that waterboarding had been used after other lawmakers were briefed in 2003.

A recently released Justice Department memo says the CIA used waterboarding at least 83 times in August 2002 in the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, a suspected al Qaeda leader imprisoned at U.S. facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday that if Pelosi's accusations are not true, she may need to step down.

"She made some outrageous accusations last week where she said that the CIA lied to her and lied systematically over a period of years. That is a very, very serious charge," Hoekstra said Monday on CNN's "American Morning."

"Either the CIA needs to be held accountable for their performance during this time or the speaker needs to be held accountable and be responsible for the actions and the statements that she made last week. One or the other is correct, one or the other is wrong," he said

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