Hoekstra accuses Dems of playing politics with nat'l security

[babylonsister]

Another gop whiner-must be his turn today.:cry:


http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/07/09/hoekstra-accuses-dems-of-playing-politics-with-natl-security/

Hoekstra accuses Dems of playing politics with nat'l security
@ 10:21 am by Michael O'Brien


It's only Democrats who are saying the CIA misled Congress in briefings over the past eight years, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) asserted Thursday.

The top GOP member of the House Intelligence Committee, accused House Democrats of playing politics by sending CIA Director Leon Panetta a letter accusing his agency of having lied to congressional leaders in briefings.

"It's one of the most bizarre episodes in politics that I've seen in my time here in Washington," Hoekstra said during an appearance on CBS this morning. "These are all Democrats saying the CIA lied."

The accusation dredges up the nearly two-month-old claims made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that lawmakers were lied to about interrogation tactics in briefings. That was met by a blunt rejoinder by Panetta, a Democrat, who insisted the CIA had never lied to Congress nor intended to mislead lawmakers.

"They sent that letter on stationery making sure that that letter was available to the press, but also making sure that we on the Republican side didn't get the letter," Hoekstra continued.

"So to me it looks like they're working on the political equation," he said of House Democrats. "They're not trying to foster a bipartisan consensus on national security."

[emulatorloo]

1. Yes, it is only ok when Hoekstra accuses the CIA of lying.

Strange but true: Republican accused CIA of lying
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=40464

========

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who called Pelosi's charges against the CIA "outrageous" earlier this week, said this about the CIA just last November:

"We cannot have a community that operates outside the law and covers up what it does and lies to Congress."

Hoekstra was reacting to the 2001 downing of a plane carrying Michigan missionaries in Peru. An investigation by the Office of Inspector General found that the CIA violated the law and then lied to Congress about it.

<SNIP>

Here's what he said in 2006:

"I want to reemphasize that the Administration has the legal responsibility to 'fully and currently' inform the House and Senate Intelligence Committees of its intelligence and intelligence-related activities. Although the law gives you and the committees flexibility on how we accomplish that (I have been fully supportive of your concerns in that respect), it is clear that we, the Congress, are to be provided all information about such activities. I have learned of some alleged Intelligence Community activities about which our committee has not been briefed. In the next few days I will be formally requesting information on these activities. If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the Administration, a violation of law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the Members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies. I strongly encourage you to direct all elements of the Intelligence Community to fulfill their legal responsibility to keep the Intelligence Committees fully briefed on their activities. The U.S. Congress should not have to play 'Twenty Questions' to get the information that it deserves under the Constitution."

[damntexdem]

2. He thinks that playing politics with national security should be left to the experts: the GOP.

The Republican side shouldn't get anything other than kicks in the ass.