Enlarge By Mark Wilson, Getty Images House members have voted not to investigate claims by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that the CIA misled her in 2002 about its use of waterboarding against terror suspects. Here, Pelosi is seen on Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington. WASHINGTON (AP)  Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday defeated a Republican push to investigate House leader Nancy Pelosi 's claims that the CIA misled her in 2002 about whether waterboarding had been used against terrorism suspects. The House voted 252-172 to block the measure, which would have created a bipartisan congressional panel. "This is partisan politics and an attempt by the Republicans to distract from the real issue of creating jobs and making progress on health care, energy and education," said Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami. WATERBOARDING DISPUTE: Pelosi draws CIA response Pelosi told reporters this month that she had not been told that waterboarding had been used against terrorism suspects, even though it had been. President Obama and human rights groups have said waterboarding, which simulates drowning, is torture. "To have this charge out there and not have it resolved I think is damaging to our intelligence efforts, and certainly will have a chilling effect on our intelligence professionals around the world," said House Republican Leader John Boehner . Former Vice President Dick Cheney waded into the debate. In a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute , he said Pelosi and other lawmakers had been briefed on the interrogation techniques on "numerous occasions." "In my long experience in Washington , few matters have inspired so much contrived indignation and phony moralizing as the interrogation methods applied to a few captured terrorists," Cheney said. Pelosi has asked the Central Intelligence Agency to declassify information supporting her claims. The CIA has sent lawmakers its notes and memos on 40 congressional briefings on the interrogation techniques. But that document has been found to include several errors. CIA Director Leon Panetta acknowledged in a May 6 letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes , a Democrat, that the CIA's list may not be completely accurate. "In the end, you and the committee will have to determine whether this information is an accurate summary of what actually happened," Panetta wrote. Democrats also are pointing out that Republicans too have accused the CIA of misleading them on intelligence matters. Boehner himself called into question the soundness of the intelligence community when it determined in 2007 that Tehran had halted its nuclear weapons program. Boehner told reporters on Thursday that it was an unfair comparison because he never accused the men and women of the intelligence community of misleading Congress. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more