Feinstein on Panetta

Beef officially squashed. Here’s what Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said about CIA director-(quasi-)designate Leon Panetta to reporters outside the Senate floor this afternoon:

“I’ve known Leon for 20 years. He is smart, he is credible, and he is truthful. And I believe he will surround himself with very qualified intelligence professionals in the top positions, and that we will have a very close working relationship. This is important to me, because there are big issues facing the agency. He will tell truth to power, not what power wants to hear, but what power should hear. And that’s probably the most fundamental part of all of this, so that what many of us think happened with the Iraq [National Intelligence Estimate] never happens again…”

Queensbridge breaks bread with the South-South Bronx.