Speaker Nancy Pelosi's deputy in the House said Thursday he could not share the same conclusion as the speaker that the CIA misled Congress about its use of enhanced interrogation techniques.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, panned the recent criticism of Pelosi as a "distraction" during a verbal tangle with Republican Whip Eric Cantor on the House floor. 

But when asked directly whether he shares Pelosi's belief that the CIA misled Congress, he backed off. 

"I have no idea of that. I don't have a belief of that nature because I have no basis on which to base such a belief," Hoyer said. "And I certainly hope that's not the case. And I don't draw that conclusion." 

Hoyer's office later forwarded a statement to FOX News clarifying his position.

"I believe the speaker's assertions when she says them," he said told MSNBC Thursday. "But again, whether I believe them, you believe them, or what she asserts as to what she knew or when she knew it, that's a stalking horse. That's a distraction." 

Hoyer was challenged on the issue after Pelosi, facing questions over how much she knew early on about the Bush administration's interrogation policies, told reporters Thursday afternoon that the CIA misled Congress. She adamantly insisted that she was not aware that waterboarding or other enhanced interrogation techniques were being used on terrorism suspects. 

"Every step of the way the administration was misleading the Congress, and that is the issue and that's why we need a truth commission," she said, referring to her call for a congressional investigation into such Bush-era policies. 

But Republicans stirred skepticism over her accusation against the CIA.

Hoyer, who won the role of majority leader despite lacking Pelosi's support, is in an awkward spot with the latest controversy swirling around the House speaker. 

Hoyer said the issue is "not irrelevant" but is still a distraction. 

"I think there is far too much discussion about what was said as opposed to what was done," he said Thursday. 

The Maryland Democrat generally has tried to quiet the controversy while at the same time declining to attempt to shut it down. 

He acknowledged earlier this week that the issue should be resolved. 

On the topic of Democratic-led hearings, he said that the latest controversy over "what was said and when it was said, who said it ... is probably what ought to be on the record as well." 

Hoyer also was asked whether he believes Pelosi's support has been undermined among Democrats. 

"No, I don't," he said.