Hoyer questions Pelosi's CIA charge UPDATED

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) isn't exactly rushing to support Nancy Pelosi's claim she was "misled" by CIA officials during a 2002 intel briefing on waterboarding.

Hoyer -- a polished floor debater -- was drawn into an extended exchange with Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on the issue this afternoon and said he didn't have enough information on the briefings to draw a conclusion -- and wasn't inclined to doubt the CIA anyway.

Still, Hoyer said he regarded the entire matter as a distraction that the GOP was using to take attention off of their support of questionable interrogation procedures.

[Rush transcript, via a GOP staffer]:

Rep. Cantor: “I share with the gentleman the notion we need to follow the law. But if there is somehow a belief, and I'd ask the gentleman whether he shares this belief, that somehow the CIA or others have intentionally misled this body, because that seems to be some concern that has been raised today? And I yield.” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: “I have no idea of that, don't have a belief of that nature because I have no basis on which to base such a belief. And I certainly hope that's not the case. I don't draw that conclusion. What I say to the gentleman once again is that to a degree that is a distraction.

It is not irrelevant, but it is a distraction from the central point. And I will tell my friend that I think there is far too much discussion about what was said as opposed to what was done. The truth commission I think has a responsibility or whatever we call a commission that would look at this issue, not so much for what was done but to ensure that what we do going forward is legal, consistent with our values, consistent with our morals, and consistent as the gentleman points out with protecting our nation and our people. In my view, we have a responsibility to do all of those. And in my view, we can do all of those. They are not inconsistent with one another. And that is what I think we ought to be looking at as we look at what happened so that what happens in the future, because certainly this nation is going to be under threat now and in the future. And I think it's very important. I frankly think that upholding our values is consistent with also protecting our security.”



UPDATE: Hoyer was in a more supportive mood during an appearance on MSNBC's ED Schultz later in the day, telling the blue-collar lefty:

Said Hoyer: “I believe the Speaker. … .She wasn’t in that briefing. But not withstanding that, I believe the speaker’s assertions when she says them. … What she knew or when she knew it -- that’s a stalking horse. That’s a distraction. We know things were done. We know that the law – we believe – certainly – was broken, and we ought to find out whether the law was broken. … I think she’s accurate when she says what she said.”

(h/t Tim Grieve)







Glenn Thrush is senior staff writer at Politico Magazine.