I wonder where the darling Trinity is. For weeks and weeks "she" was posting link after link "proving" that Pelosi and dems "knew" about the CIA torture tactics, "were briefed on" waterboarding and other sundry Guantanamo programs... and Trinity spit on Nancy Pelosi, figuratively speaking, all while glorifying the dick Cheney.
And now it is revealed...
From the New York Times,
Cheney Linked to CIA Concealment
July 11, 2009
The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agencys director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.
The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.
Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23 {2009}, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.
Efforts to reach Mr. Cheney through relatives and associates were unsuccessful.
The question of how completely the C.I.A. informed Congress about sensitive programs has been hotly disputed by Democrats and Republicans since May, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the agency of failing to reveal in 2002 that it was waterboarding a terrorism suspect, a claim Mr. Panetta rejected.
The law requires the president to make sure the intelligence committees are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity. But the language of the statute, the amended National Security Act of 1947, leaves some leeway for judgment, saying such briefings should be done to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters.
In addition, for covert action programs, a particularly secret category in which the role of the United States is hidden, the law says that briefings can be limited to the so-called Gang of Eight, consisting of the Republican and Democratic leaders of both houses of Congress and of their intelligence committees.
The disclosure about Mr. Cheneys role in the unidentified C.I.A. program comes a day after an inspector generals report underscored the central role of the former vice presidents office in restricting to a small circle of officials knowledge of the National Security Agencys program of eavesdropping without warrants, a degree of secrecy that the report concluded had hurt the effectiveness of the counterterrorism surveillance effort.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/us/politics/12intel.html
--------------------
From the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON CIA Director Leon Panetta has terminated a very serious covert program the spy agency kept secret from Congress for eight years, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a House Intelligence subcommittee chairwoman, said Friday.
The program is a very, very serious program and certainly deserved a serious debate at the time and through the years, Schakowsky said. But now its over.
Under the National Security Act, Congress must, with rare exceptions, be informed of covert activities.
Democrats revealed late Tuesday that CIA Director Leon Panetta had informed members of the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 that the spy agency had been withholding important information about a secret intelligence program begun after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Schakowsky described Panetta as stunned that he had not been informed of the program until nearly five months into his tenure as director.
--------------------
Let's reiterate:
The CIA withheld information about a "very serious" secret counterterrorism program FOR EIGHT YEARS ON DIRECT ORDERS FROM FORMER VP DICK CHENEY -- all according to CIA Director Leon Panetta. And, by law, the CIA must disclose (for debate) the covert programs to leaders of both houses of Congress (as a form of "oversight").
Which means the dick Cheney circumvented the law.
And, oh, big surprise!, after weeks of making the rounds on every conceivable television news program (along with daughter Liz), suddenly both Cheneys are "unavailable for comment".
And now it is revealed...
From the New York Times,
Cheney Linked to CIA Concealment
July 11, 2009
The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agencys director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.
The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.
Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23 {2009}, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.
Efforts to reach Mr. Cheney through relatives and associates were unsuccessful.
The question of how completely the C.I.A. informed Congress about sensitive programs has been hotly disputed by Democrats and Republicans since May, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the agency of failing to reveal in 2002 that it was waterboarding a terrorism suspect, a claim Mr. Panetta rejected.
The law requires the president to make sure the intelligence committees are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity. But the language of the statute, the amended National Security Act of 1947, leaves some leeway for judgment, saying such briefings should be done to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters.
In addition, for covert action programs, a particularly secret category in which the role of the United States is hidden, the law says that briefings can be limited to the so-called Gang of Eight, consisting of the Republican and Democratic leaders of both houses of Congress and of their intelligence committees.
The disclosure about Mr. Cheneys role in the unidentified C.I.A. program comes a day after an inspector generals report underscored the central role of the former vice presidents office in restricting to a small circle of officials knowledge of the National Security Agencys program of eavesdropping without warrants, a degree of secrecy that the report concluded had hurt the effectiveness of the counterterrorism surveillance effort.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/us/politics/12intel.html
--------------------
From the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON CIA Director Leon Panetta has terminated a very serious covert program the spy agency kept secret from Congress for eight years, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a House Intelligence subcommittee chairwoman, said Friday.
The program is a very, very serious program and certainly deserved a serious debate at the time and through the years, Schakowsky said. But now its over.
Under the National Security Act, Congress must, with rare exceptions, be informed of covert activities.
Democrats revealed late Tuesday that CIA Director Leon Panetta had informed members of the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 that the spy agency had been withholding important information about a secret intelligence program begun after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Schakowsky described Panetta as stunned that he had not been informed of the program until nearly five months into his tenure as director.
--------------------
Let's reiterate:
The CIA withheld information about a "very serious" secret counterterrorism program FOR EIGHT YEARS ON DIRECT ORDERS FROM FORMER VP DICK CHENEY -- all according to CIA Director Leon Panetta. And, by law, the CIA must disclose (for debate) the covert programs to leaders of both houses of Congress (as a form of "oversight").
Which means the dick Cheney circumvented the law.
And, oh, big surprise!, after weeks of making the rounds on every conceivable television news program (along with daughter Liz), suddenly both Cheneys are "unavailable for comment".
