House Of Representatives

Updated May 08, 2009

Pelosi Briefed in 2002 About Enhanced Interrogation Methods

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FOXNews.com

An intelligence report contradicts a statement by House Speaker Pelosi last month that she was never told that waterboarding or other enhanced interrogation techniques were being used on terrorism suspects.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed in September 2002 on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, according to a report prepared by the Director of National Intelligence's office and obtained by FOX News.

The report seems to contradict a statement by Pelosi last month that she was never told that waterboarding or other enhanced interrogation techniques were being used on terrorism suspects.

The report was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee and federal officials Wednesday.

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said the speaker was under the impression the techniques were legal and waterboarding was not used.

"As this document shows, the speaker was briefed only once, in September 2002," he said. "The briefers described these techniques, said they were legal, but said that waterboarding had not yet been used."

Republicans have already accused Pelosi and other Democrats of having selective and politically motivated amnesia when it comes to who knew what, and when, about the Bush-era interrogation programs. Those accusations were leveled in light of a Washington Post story published in 2007 that quoted two officials saying the California Democrat and three other lawmakers had received an hour-long secret briefing on the interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, and that they raised no objections at the time.

Pelosi is among Democratic lawmakers who want an independent commission established to investigate officials and lawyers involved in the drafting the of interrogation methods.

Justice Department officials have stopped short of recommending criminal charges against the Bush administration lawyers who wrote the memos approving the methods.

A person familiar with the inquiry told The Associated Press that investigators recommended referring two of the three lawyers to state bar associations for possible disciplinary action.

FOX News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

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