CIA director Leon Panetta admitted in closed-door testimony that not only does the CIA routinely allow misconceptions about their actions to flourish in Congress — as the agency has been accused of doing by Nancy Pelosi — but that they deliberately deceived the body, Democrats who heard his testimony said. According to reports, the CIA concealed “significant actions” from Congress for at least the last eight years, and up until two weeks ago. New Jersey Representative Rush Holt, one of the Dems who signed a letter revealing Panetta’s disclosure, wouldn’t reveal what they’d been deceived about, but said they wouldn’t have released the information “over a trivial matter.” On Wednesday night, a CIA spokesman huffed in protest: “But we eventually told you about the times we lied to you!”* Which, certainly, is logic we’d accept from, say, a backstabbing friend or even a significant other going through, like, rehab, but is maybe less compelling coming from a 60-year-old agency devoted to gathering intelligence.
Democrats Say C.I.A. Deceived Congress for Years [NYT]
*Not his exact words.
