Ex-Senator Graham Backs Up Pelosi: I Was Never Briefed On Waterboarding

[Political Tiger]

Former Senator Bob Graham, who received a classified briefing on terror detainees during the same month in the fall of 2002 as Nancy Pelosi, was not briefed about the use of either waterboarding or enhanced interrogation techniques during the meeting, he claimed in an interview with me.

Graham’s assertion — his first public comments since the release of the intelligence document detailing torture briefings given to members of Congress — directly contradicts the document’s claim that he had been briefed on enhanced interrogation techniques, or EITs. Graham is now the second Dem official to deny on the record the document’s contents and raises questions about its claim that Pelosi had been told, which she has denied.

“I do not have any recollection of being briefed on waterboarding or other forms of extraordinary interrogation techniques, or Abu Zubaydah being subjected to them,” Graham told me by phone moments ago, in a reference to the terror suspect who had been repeatedly waterboarded the month before.

Graham is the only other Dem aside from Pelosi to get briefed in 2002, so they are both in effect asserting that no Dem was briefed on the use of EITs that year. The date of the next briefing was in February 2003.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/torture/bob-graham-i-wasnt-told-about-waterboarding-or-eits-in-my-briefing/

[lunatica]

1. Which, of course means he was briefed... If it's a Republican it's lying it's ass off

[Political Tiger]

2. Bob Graham is a Democrat whose word is as good as gold. n/t

[tosh]

7. Yep, one of the best Democrats of my lifetime. nt.

[Political Tiger]

11. Definitely! If he had run, I would have voted for him over Obama

And I loves my Obama, but Bob Graham has always been my favorite Dem.

[emulatorloo]

16. I wanted him so badly as Kerry's VP. EOM

[Political Tiger]

18. Me too! Actually, I wanted him as Obama's VP too! n/t

[Orangepeel]

27. He should have been GORE'S VP

It would have been a whole different world....

[lunatica]

9. I read it as Phil Graham! D'oh!

[Adelante]

4. Bob Graham?

Honest as the day is long.

[lunatica]

10. I stand corrected. I read it as the wrong Graham...

[Adelante]

19. I've done the same thing several times the other way

I think it's Bob Graham and it's not :D

[dionysus]

25. shows how very little you know about politics, doesn't it...

:rofl:

[Bolo Boffin]

3. Well, my goodness.

This is about to get interesting.

[dgibby]

6. Pardon me, but would you happen to have any

:popcorn:

[vaberella]

32. Only Kettle...

:popcorn: :rofl:

[Uncle Joe]

5. It will be interesting to see which side Senator Shelby comes down on.

Does he implicate him self in condoning torture or does he support Pelosi and Graham's assertions?

[TimesSquareCowboy]

8. Remember, Graham's one of the only few who read the NIE on Iraq,

and on that basis voted against the war. So I think he's shown he pays attention when important information is provided to him.

[Cha]

12. That's right! Thanks for reminding

us of that detail during those horrible times.

[polichick]

13. I've always thought he was one who's there for the right reasons...

That showed when he read the NIE ~ they ALL should've read it.

[Jennicut]

14. Well, well well. Maybe good old Nancy was telling the truth after all.

Bob Graham is known as a straight shooter.

[vaberella]

31. I always knew she was. The Repubs were too hot on this. n/t

[xchrom]

15. recommend

[justinaforjustice]

17. Senator Graham is Extremely Credible.

Graham was well known for keeping meticulous notes on everything he did in a day, including what he ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If he says he was not briefed on water boarding and other torture methods and Pelosi wasn't either, I believe him absolutely.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

20. This whole thing about Pelosi and selected Dems is ridiculous

Everybody DOES realize that by the Republicans trying to push this as hard as they are they are implicating themselves in patently illegal actitivies? If what Bushco was doing was totally legal and legit, then the smear doesn't even logically work. If they are trying to say that Pelosi, et. al are "guilty-by-association" because they were allegedly briefed on use of torture techniques being used on detainees, "enhanced interrogation", or whatever the hell they want to call it and they didn't "do" anything about it, then they are tacitly acknowledging what Bushco did (and what THEY themselves openly supported) was ILLEGAL and that they knew it was illegal and didn't do anything about it themselves!

[Rowdyboy]

21. This settles the issue in my mind.....Bob Graham is a straight up guy

[PopSixSquish]

22. Senator Graham is Throwing it Down Republicans, Are You Picking it Up?

If Bob said that he and Nancy weren't briefed, then they weren't briefed. And unless I've completely misread the man all these years, he would have said something regardless of the consequences

[Captain Hilts]

23. Don't pour water on the Pelosi-hate threads. It's ALLher fault! nt

[vaberella]

30. Ain't that the truth. I hate when they do that to her. n/t

[stillcool]

24. He said that a while back..

didn't matter then, and I suppose it doesn't matter now.

[Boomerang Diddle]

26. Bob Graham is a good man! n/t

[Egnever]

28. Well that ends that BS argument

Graham takes notes he would not have forgoten. Hell the guy has notes on what he had for breakfast that day.

[vaberella]

29. Actually the document never said they were briefed on waterboarding.

They were just briefed on interrogation tactics and NP said clearly that it was the possiblity of it's use not that they were told exactly what was used or that it was currently then being used.

[vaberella]

33. I hope this officially shuts up Turley.

What an arse.

[Political Tiger]

34. Don't count on it!

He's milking this for all he can.

[vaberella]

35. huh..yeah. I'm not holding my breath. n/t

[marshall]

38. Pelosi is the one who needs to keep her trap shut!

Her statements are getting more and more incredulous everytime she speaks.

[vaberella]

39. Huh? Nothing she's said has been contradictory or wrong.

And if you look at this thread, it states Graham supports NP. So Turley, if anyone, needs to shut his trap.

[Clear Blue Sky]

36. Put them all under oath and ask again.

[LynneSin]

37. I'll say this much - Bob Graham is one of my favorite Senators - well respected

If Graham is backing her then I believe him.

[bertman]

40. "I do not have any recollection of being briefed on waterboarding . . ." The words

"I do not have any recollection of" are legal weasel words. And I don't care if Jesus H. Christ said them himself, they'd still be legal weasel words.

"I was NOT briefed on waterboarding . . . " is what someone who was not weaseling would say.

"I do not have any recollection of . . ." leaves one an out from perjury charges if evidence ever surfaces to show that the statement is false.

Just sayin'

[Political Tiger]

41. Nobody, even Reich-wingers, have ever questioned Bob Graham's honesty.

Not to mention the fact that he is somewhat famous for keeping meticulous records of his day to day activities.

[bertman]

43. That's wonderful. Then he should say "I was NOT told about water-boarding or other

blah blah blah." He's using the I don't recollect cover.

Even men of great integrity sometimes find themselves in compromising positions where they "fudge". Maybe Bob Graham would not.

[Justice]

44. It is the sort of information you would remember, isn't it?

My reaction was the same as yours. It is not as if they were briefing him about the uniform color or the type of aircraft used to fly to Gitmo. It is the kind of information that when you hear it, you tend to remember exactly where you were and what the room looked like. Sort of like remembering where you were when you heard JFK or Reagan was shot or the space shuttle went down.

[bertman]

45. Yes, or as in this case, information that you DIDN'T get briefed on.

So, here we are in the middle of this War on Terror, and the top Congressional reps are being briefed in a top-secret, hush-hush meeting about what's happening with the people we are capturing, and Bob Graham cannot categorically say "I was not briefed on those techniques."

Okay, I'm done. Point made.

[centristgrandpa]

42. finger pointing

So the old GOP is trying to sell themselves as the new political watchdogs of yesteryears, what’s wrong with this scenario? Reaching for new heights, repub nation is returning from political jumbo to hysterical revolution, so telling when conservatives are leaderless and clueless at the same time. The blame game is the only thing left for them GOP gofers, how pathetic.