Arlen Specter lists a handful of examples in the past where the CIA has withheld key information from Congress. Specter sympathetic to Pelosi on CIA

Sen. Arlen Specter appeared to side with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday in her spat with the CIA over harsh interrogation methods, saying the agency has a history of being less than forthright with Congress.

“The CIA has a very bad record when it comes - I was about to say [being] candid, but that's too mild - to honesty. It goes back a long time,” Specter said in a speech before the American Law Institute at a Washington hotel.


The Republican-turned-Democrat listed a handful of examples in the past where the CIA has withheld key information from Congress, including an instance when a CIA operative knowingly passed along to the White House “tainted” information about the then-Soviet Union and the agency’s statements about its ties to the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration.

During my tenure as chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the 104th Congress, there were repeated instances where we didn’t get information that was there,” Specter said.

"It's a real problem as to how you get the information."

After his remarks, Specter said he spoke about the controversy because it fit into his speech's theme about the growth of executive power. Still, his comments were consistent with arguments that Pelosi and her lieutenants have been making for days.

Since becoming a Democrat last month, Specter has made offhand remarks that have angered Democrats, but on Wednesday he seemed to be clearly on the speaker's side.

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After the CIA disclosed documents showing that Pelosi had been briefed in 2002 that an Al Qaeda leader had been waterboarded, she publicly accused the agency of lying to Congress.

Republicans have pounced on the spat in an attempt to tarnish her credibility, and Specter said it was "unfortunate" that some have sought to make a "political game" of the controversy.

“The current controversy involving Speaker Pelosi and the CIA is very unfortunate in my view because it politicizes the issue and takes away attention from what ought to be the focus – and that is how does the Congress get accurate information from the CIA,” Specter said.

Much of his speech was devoted to the controversy, and he cited CIA Director Leon Panetta's defense of the agency that its policy is not to mislead Congress.

"That doesn't mean they are giving out all the information," Specter said, adding there could be a "great reluctance" for the CIA to say too much.

Specter said he suggested the CIA briefings with lawmakers should be recorded in the future so there are no disputes over what was said.

Pelosi, whom he called "reliable," should be "entitled to have as much light on this as possible," including the release of CIA notes on her briefing, Specter said.

Asked if the CIA had lied to her, Pelosi told reporters the agency had done so over the use of harsh interrogation techniques, and mislead Congress in the process.

On Wednesday, Specter sought to soften Pelosi’s remarks.

“Speaker Pelosi said she was misinformed, and that’s immediately translated to calling them a liar,” Specter said. “A little different, in fact a lot different.”