Hoyer passes when asked if CIA lied to Congress

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer declined Thursday to backup Speaker Nancy Pelosi's assertion that the CIA lied to Congress during debate on the House floor.

"I have no idea of that, don't have a belief of that nature because I have no basis on which to base such a belief. And I certainly hope that's not the case," Hoyer said in response to a question from Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor.

"There have been statements made by the Speaker and others indicating a certain preconceived bias like a belief that perhaps the CIA or others have somehow misled us...we need to understand if there is some type of preconceived bias," Cantor said, asking Hoyer for his take on the allegation that the intelligence community has been less than forthright with Congress.

Hoyer responded that while the question of what Pelosi knew is "not irrelevant," Republicans should focus on the bigger picture.

"To a degree that is a distraction. It is not irrelevant, but it is a distraction from the central point," he said "I think there is far too much discussion about what was said as opposed to what was done. The truth commission, I think, has a responsibility or whatever we call a commission that would look at this issue, not so much for what was done but to ensure that what we do going forward is legal, consistent with our values, consistent with our morals, and consistent..with protecting our nation and our people. In my view, we have a responsibility to do all of those and in my view we can do all of those."

-Mosheh Oinounou