Controversy surrounding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and her claim the C-I-A lied about briefing her on interrogation techniques used against terrorist suspects, is raising a lot of questions – and members of the Republican minority appear eager to provide their own answers.
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan said "most of us familiar with this episode have, sort of, all along believed she wasn't shooting straight with folks, with respect to the briefings she received."
"Because she was the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, all the facts seem to point to the fact that she had been briefed fully on this and had signed off on it, or at least did not protest . . . and now, we're getting kind of a different story," Ryan said. The Janesville Republican said with all the briefings members of Congress receive, and with Pelosi getting more as majority leader, it's very unlikely one would forget the briefings on interrogation techniques.
"This is pretty uniquely different, because what these briefings would have been – you're talking about a year after 9-11 – and you had specific terrorists in custody, who were the masterminds of 9-11, and you knew that a second wave after 9-11 was being planned," Ryan said. " Given the fact that other members of Congress were sitting beside her (Pelosi) in the very room when these briefings went on, and who have vivid memories of these things, leads you to these perplexing conclusions that we're having right now."
