Panetta: CIA didn't mislead Congress

WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- CIA Director Leon Panetta Friday disputed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's charge the agency misled Congress during a 2002 briefing on harsh interrogation methods.

Pelosi Thursday said she was "misled" by CIA officials during the briefing about whether the United States was waterboarding -- simulating drowning -- alleged terrorist detainees. She said the CIA told her that the administration had determined that the practice of waterboarding was legal but hadn't yet been used.

CNN quoted Panetta as telling agency employees, "Let me be clear, it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. It is against our laws and our values."

Panetta sent a memo to CIA employees, telling them that agency officers "briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing 'the enhanced techniques that had been employed,'" The Hill reported.

During her news conference, the California Democrat said the CIA briefing she received was "incomplete and inaccurate," and she called on the spy agency to release a full transcript of the briefing.

"We are an agency of high integrity, professionalism and dedication," Panetta said in the memo. "Our task is to tell it like it is -- even if that's not what people always want to hear."

He urged employees not to be distracted by events in Congress.

"My advice -- indeed, my direction -- to you is straightforward: Ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission," Panetta wrote. "We have too much work to do to be distracted from our job of protecting this country."