Wash. Times falsely claims Pelosi said she attended 40 briefings on harsh interrogation methods

In a May 9 article, The Washington Times falsely asserted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "noted" that the classified September 4, 2002, briefing she received on harsh interrogation techniques was "one of 40 such meetings she attended with lawmakers." In fact, in a May 8 statement, Pelosi said that "[o]f the 40 CIA briefings to Congress reported recently in the press, I was only briefed once, on September 4, 2002" -- not that she had "attended" all "40 such meetings," as the Times asserted.

The article, by reporter Kara Rowland, further falsely claimed that a "Director of National Intelligence memo released late Thursday said that ... the waterboarding of al Qaeda terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah was discussed in detail" at the September 2002 briefing Pelosi attended. In fact, while the DNI memo states that the briefing included "a description of the particular EITs [enhanced interrogation techniques] that had been employed," the memo does not state that waterboarding was among the specific methods mentioned during the briefing, as Media Matters for America has noted.

From Pelosi's May 8 statement:

"Of the 40 CIA briefings to Congress reported recently in the press, I was only briefed once, on September 4, 2002, as I have previously stated.

"As I said in my statement of December 9, 2007:

'I was briefed on interrogation techniques the Administration was considering using in the future. The Administration advised that legal counsel for both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal.'

"I had no further briefings on the techniques.

"My understanding of the briefing I received is consistent with the description that CIA General Counsel Scott Muller provided to Congresswoman Jane Harman in a letter dated February 28, 2003, which states:

'As we informed both you and the leadership of the Intelligence Committees last September, a number of Executive Branch lawyers including lawyers from the Department of Justice participated in the determination that, in the appropriate circumstances, the use of these techniques is fully consistent with U.S. law.'

"As reported in the press, a cover letter from CIA Director Panetta accompanying the briefings memo released this week concedes that the descriptions provided by the CIA may not be accurate."

From the May 9 Washington Times article, "Pelosi refutes intelligence memo":

The California Democrat is at the center of an intensifying debate on Capitol Hill over the Bush administration's interrogation policies, which critics condemn as torture. Defenders of the practices argue in part that Mrs. Pelosi and others in Congress were told at the time of the techniques and made no move to stop them.

A Director of National Intelligence memo released late Thursday said that Mrs. Pelosi was at a classified briefing in September 2002 in which the waterboarding of al Qaeda terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah was discussed in detail.

Mrs. Pelosi Friday stuck to her denial.

"As reported in the press, a cover letter from CIA Director [Leon E.] Panetta accompanying the briefings memo released this week concedes that the descriptions provided by the CIA may not be accurate," she said in a statement.

She did not address previous comments she made that put her at odds with the report, but noted that the September 2002 briefing was one of 40 such meetings she attended with lawmakers.

Mrs. Pelosi said she was told some enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, were thought by the Bush administration to be legal and could be used in the future.

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