Still More Doubts Arise About CIA’s Info On Torture Briefings
Today’s Washington Post has a big story about Dick Cheney and torture that’s important for a number of reasons, not least because it raises still more doubts about the CIA documents that purported to detail what members of Congress were told and when about the use of torture.
The story reports that Cheney personally oversaw four or more briefings of members of congress about the torture program as part of an aggressive campaign in 2005 to maintain support for the use of torture.
But here’s the thing: The CIA documents that Republicans have widely cited as proof that Nancy Pelosi lied about what she knew didn’t mention Cheney’s presence at these briefings. Instead, as WaPo notes, the docs said that the info about who oversaw those particular briefings was “not available.”
Pelosi was broadly pilloried by Republicans and neutral observers for saying the CIA lied. Yet here’s yet more evidence that the CIA’s documents were incomplete at best and willfully misleading at worst.
The story also raises an important question: Why did the CIA omit from those documents any mention of Cheney’s presence at any of these briefings? Was the claim that the info was “not available” an outright falsehood designed to cover up Cheney’s role?
Marcy Wheeler has some must-reading on the WaPo story. I’m hoping to dig into this more today, so please let me know your thoughts.
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I mentioned this in the Happy Hour thread but this story dovetails with the reports that Cheney is seeking to declassify. The story itself says Cheney was trying to “sell” the members of Congress on the torture program and I would bet it all that those reports are what he used to do the selling. Which means they were put together specifically for propaganda purposes to be used by Cheney. That is the major tie in, and I bet you that Cheney also conducted some of the briefings in 2004 when the reports were originally put together after the story came out about us torturing prisoners.
good catch, SG. Do the dates line up?
I don’t have the dates for the briefings at the ready but I am about to check.
Greg
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I think it has been staring us in the face the whole time. Let me lay it out.
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In the CIA intelligence report there is a briefing on 7-13-2004 for Jane Harman and Porter Goss. At that meeting the notes say the “Holy Grail” IG report on interrogations was put forth. Here is the actual notes on it.
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Now when you go to the docs Dick Cheney wants declassified what do you think the first one is dated?
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7-13-2004
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Just two days later there is another briefing this time with Pat Roberts and John Rockefeller, but check out what shows up in the notes of that one .
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This was DEFINITELY propaganda material that he got the CIA to put together to “sell” congress on torture.
Really good work connecting the dots, SG. It also makes it a clearer why Cheney could zero in so specifically on two memos out of the gazillion documents out there. They were not only documents he’d had drawn up, but documents he’d used directly in his push to control Congress on the torture program.
Greg, help with my confusion. I thought Pelosi was being pilloried for what she said about her meeting in 2002. And for being a hypocrite and not doing anything at all after she learned about ‘torture’ in 2003. Now you (and this article?) are talking about meetings that took place in 2005 . . . ? The Republicans haven’t been pointing to CIA notes from 2005 to prove that Nancy was lying – they have been pointing to notes/recollections/etc that Panetta had the CIA pull together about the meetings that took place in 2002 and 2003.
SBJ, I’m talking about the broader notion that Pelosi’s charge that the CIA lied is controversial. Pelosi got pilloried for questioning honesty of CIA. This latest revelation, in a general sense, casts doubt on the credibility of the CIA. That shouldn’t be confusing.
And fantastic work, SG. That is striking. Trying to figure out how to report it out.
“The revelations do not shed light on whether top Democrats . . . were aware that waterboarding . . . was being used on terrorism suspects as early as the fall of 2002.”
If you are all excited that the CIA has created inaccurate notes . . . we already knew that! The only news here is that Cheney led some briefings. This doesn’t shed any light on whether Nancy lied about what she knew in 2002. Oh wait, there is this bit of news:
“Cheney . . . advocated briefing more lawmakers about the program, against the wishes of National Security Council . . . The CIA briefers said that half of the agency’s knowledge about al-Qaeda’s plans and structure had been obtained through the interrogations.”
More proof that Cheney is correct?
Greg – sorry for cross posting. I think your take on this is very disingenuous. WE ALREADY KNEW that the CIA notes were not accurate. WE ALREADY KNEW that sometimes the CIA lies – this is not even controversial. You are saying that the Repubs have been piling on Nancy because she says the CIA lies in general all the time. They have been on her, primarily, because they say she is lying about WHAT SHE KNEW IN 2002. (They have also been on her case about her satatement that “they lie all the time” but only to highlight that, if true, then as Speaker for the past two plus years, why the heck hasn’t she done anything about it?)
@sg: “This was DEFINITELY propaganda material that he got the CIA to put together to “sell” congress on torture.”
Are you contending that the info the CIA put together was not truthful?
sbj, this goes to the heart of whether the CIA documents, in a general sense, can be relied on as proof of anything, as Republicans are contending. You’re splitting hairs. come on.
@greg: So we can’t use contemporaneous accounts, we’re just gonna rely on Nancy’s word some 7 years later?
Only sbj could try to make this about Nancy Pelosi. “Look at the shiny object in the corner!” Sorry not buying. This was obviously propaganda material used to sell members of congress on torturing detainees. Check out the line from the briefing where Harman heard the IG’s report.
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Discussion of CIA currently seeking reaffirmation from DOJ on use of EITs as well as renewed policy approval from NSC principals
to continue using EITs.
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Now why do you suppose that the CIA all of a sudden needed reaffirmation? Why do you suppose that Cheney’s propaganda report was put together the same day and used 2 days later in another briefing for the first time?
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You can keep sticking your head in the sand but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to.
@sg: Are you contending that the info the CIA put together was not truthful?
I think the most important fact this brings out is that Cheney, being in control of the torture, chose to hide certain details during those briefings. Cheney knew at the time that Torture had already been ordered and used yet reports tell us that the Dems were only told that they may be used, but hadn’t been yet.
There is another big questions that springs to mind. If Cheney was at the Torture Briefings does that also point to Cheney having been at the briefings on Warrantless Wiretaps? Was he cheerleading that illegal op in the same manner?
Because the VP is also a Member of Congress, the tie-breaking vote, what ethics rules and Laws did he break by lying to Congress?
@sg: I guess you are claiming that the reports the CIA put together are nothing but lies. And you know that the report about the intelligence gathered using EITs is not truthful … how? Have you read the report? Oh no, you haven’t – it’s classified. But you KNOW for certain that the CIA lied at the behest of Cheney. You know this for certain because Cheney requested reports defending the use of EITs when the use of EITs was under legislative attack. No offense, SG, but I’m just not seeing any proof in your claim. I see some circumstantial evidence that could be twisted to show the CIA in the worst possible light, but no proof that the rperts are not accurate. Do you really think you’re gonna help the national securiy bona fides of the Dem party by yet again going on the attack against the CIA? Claiming this time that they lied, groveling at the feet of Cheney, because they wanted to continue to ‘torture’ people for no good reason?