Graham Says CIA Admitted Briefings Error; CIA Declines to Respond
As first noticed by Marcy Wheeler this morning, former Senate intelligence committee chairman Bob Graham (D-Fla.) went on the Brian Lehrer radio show and said
Jul 31, 2020110.5K Shares2.2M Views
As first noticed by Marcy Wheeler this morning, former Senate intelligence committee chairman Bob Graham (D-Fla.) went on the Brian Lehrer radio showand said the CIA has conceded to him that it made some errors in its accountof which members of Congress were briefed and when about “enhanced interrogation techniques.” (You can hear what Graham said around the 4:30-4:55 minute mark.) That’s the briefings timeline that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said was “misleading” today. Graham:
“„When I asked the CIA when was I briefed, they gave me four dates, two in April and two in September of ’02. On three of the four occasions, when I consulted my schedule and my notes, it was clear that no briefing had taken place, and the CIA eventually concurred in that. So their record keeping is a little bit suspect.
If Graham is telling the truth, then the CIA is aware of at least someerrors in its timeline of congressional briefings, which gives an additional layer of meaning to CIA Director Leon Panetta’s statementthat “in the end, you and the Committee will have to determine whether this information is an accurate summary of what actually happened.” And if Graham is right about identifying three errors, it raises the question about whether there are othererrors, and if CIA will update its account of the congressional briefings.
The question might be raised, but it’s not answered. I asked CIA spokesman George Little whether Graham is telling the truth and he declined comment.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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