Pelosi accuses CIA of misleading her on use of waterboarding

WASHINGTON (CNN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused CIA officials Thursday of misleading her in 2002 on the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning and has been described by critics as torture.

Pelosi reiterated an earlier claim that she was briefed on such techniques only once - in September of 2002 - and that she was told at the time that the techniques were not being used.

A recently released Justice Department memo says that 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.

Pelosi claimed that, one month later, she was only informed that the Justice Department had concluded that such techniques were legal - not that they were being used.  She said the briefing she received from the CIA was incomplete and inaccurate.

She called on the CIA to release a full transcript of the briefing.
Pelosi made her remarks during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

She claimed she was informed by a member of her staff in February 2003 that the then-Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee had been briefed on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs).  She said she responded by sending a letter of protest, but that "no letter could change (the Bush administration's) policy."

Pelosi reiterated her call for the establishment of an independent "truth commission" to investigate the use of EITs by the Bush administration.
She also suggested that the National Security Act of 1947 needs to be revised so that more members of Congress can be briefed on sensitive intelligence matters.

In 2007, Congress passed legislation banning torture and requiring interrogators to abide by the regulations of the Army Field Manual.  Former President George W. Bush vetoed the measure, but President Barack Obama enacted similar restrictions shortly after taking office.

"Throughout my career, I am proud to have worked on human rights and against torture," Pelosi said in a prepared statement.

"I unequivocally oppose the use of torture."