House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lashed out at the CIA for “misleading” her about the harsh interrogation methods used against suspected terrorists, admitting for the first time that she knew about the waterboarding of detainees several years ago, The Washington Post reported this afternoon.
Pelosi said she wants the CIA to release detailed reports on her September 2002 briefing, where she continued to maintain that she was not informed about the waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah 83 times in August 2002, The Post reported. She said adviser Michael Sheehy was at a February 2003 briefing where he learned about the actual use of waterboarding on detainees, The Post said.
“At every step of the way the administration was misleading the Congress,” Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference.
She also said she was informed of the February 2003 letter sent from Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) to the CIA general counsel that questioned the interrogation methods, The Post reported.
“That is the proper person to send the letter,” Pelosi said at the press conference. “My job (as minority leader) was to change the majority in Congress.”
