Senate Intell Committe Has Granted Itself Authority To Investigate Cheney

[kpete]

Will Senate Torture Probe Target Cheney?
Did the ex-veep tell Congress the truth? Sen. Feinstein and her investigators can find out—if they care to.
—By David Corn

Last week, The Washington Post revealed that in 2005 Cheney oversaw at least four classified briefings of congressional leaders about the interrogations of detained terrorist suspects. This was part of an effort to bolster congressional support for the program. Curiously--or not so curiously--the CIA didn't note Cheney's participation in these sessions when it recently released a list of the briefings the agency had provided to Congress regarding its interrogation methods.
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"The Senate intelligence committee's study includes an examination of how the committee was briefed on the CIA's detention and interrogation program," says Phil LaVelle, a Feinstein spokesperson. "This includes briefings of committee leadership, and is not limited by who conducted the briefing." The committee has restricted this part of its review and is not examining briefings provided to other committees--such as the House intelligence committee--according to a congressional source familiar with the probe. But given that Cheney briefed two senior members of the Senate intelligence panel, the committee can review what Cheney told Roberts and Rockefeller about the interrogation program and evaluate whether his assertions were supported by the facts. That is, the Cheney briefing is fair game for the Senate investigators.

In recent weeks, Cheney has insisted that the use of waterboarding and other extreme interrogation procedures produced essential intelligence and that classified documents prove that--while President Barack Obama and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), the chair of the armed services committee, have taken issue with him on this point. So did Cheney make an honest presentation during the behind-closed-doors meetings with congressional leaders when he was veep? Feinstein can find out--if she wants to.

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When I asked LaVelle whether the committee was examining the 2005 Cheney briefing, he declined to comment. The committee is not confirming or denying any specific aspects of its inquiry, including the witnessess it has or will be interviewing. But the committee has granted itself the authority to investigate what Cheney told committee members about the CIA interrogations. If it chooses not to do so, its probe will be incomplete.
David Corn is Mother Jones' Washington bureau chief. He's on twitter.

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[Buzz Clik]

1. Shocking. The Senate is doing their job. What's next? Becoming vertebrate?