Biden: Consultations needed for CIA pick

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice-president-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday it was a mistake not to tell Senate leaders of the selection of Leon Panetta as director of the CIA.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Biden said members of the Senate Intelligence Committee should have been consulted in advance of the Panetta nomination.

"I'm still a Senate man. I always think this way. It's always good to talk to the requisite members of Congress. I think it was just a mistake," Biden said after being sworn in today for another Senate term. The Delaware Democrat will resign his seat in advance of the Jan. 20 inauguration.

Biden's comments came after the committee's incoming chair, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and outgoing chairman, Sen. John "Jay" Rockefeller III, D-W. Va., questioned President-elect Barack Obama's selection.

On Tuesday, Biden defended the Panetta nomination, citing his time in Congress and his tenure as White House chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton.

"He has been a consumer of intelligence for a long time," Biden said. He called Panetta "a strong figure" who would take the spy agency "on a new path."