Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Panetta: Congress not told of CIA program

|
|
 
  
United States President Barack Obama is introduced by CIA Director Leon Panetta prior to making remarks at the George Bush Center for Intelligence (CIA Headquarters) in McLean, Virginia on Monday, April 20, 2009. (UPI Photo/Ron Sachs/Pool) 
Published: July 10, 2009 at 2:11 AM

WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- CIA Director Leon Panetta canceled an intelligence program after learning it had been carried out without informing Congress, The Washington Post reports.

Panetta only learned of the program in late June, four months after he was sworn in as CIA head, the newspaper said Friday. It had been carried out since 2001.

Officials would only describe the program in a general way, calling it "off again, on again" and part of the effort to gather intelligence on terrorist suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees said they should have been briefed on the program during the Bush administration.

"Instructions were given not to brief Congress," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said.

Republicans suggested the program was not a major initiative and congressional briefing was not required.

Republican leaders also suggested Democrats were seeking to bolster House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claims she was not briefed on the interrogation techniques used by the CIA.

Topics: Leon Panetta
Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade Proposition 8 ruled unconstitutional in California
AARP Movies for Grownups Award Gala The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Snowy Owls make appearance in Washington
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
38KKK air bags keep woman safe in car crash
NJ DOT committee presents recommendations on ways to reduce train-related deaths. #1: Stop getting...
Another amenity your car is missing: A wood burning stove. Talk to this guy about getting that set...
If you think doing your taxes by yourself is confusing, try getting them done at a tax business...
Photoshop this night on the town
Rhinoceros accidentally killed by conservationists during anti-poaching demo