House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has a credibility problem. Last week Pelosi stated in no uncertain terms that her office had only heard a rumor pertaining to then-Representative Eric Massa (D-NY) and his strange behavior.
“Pelosi Told Reporters That Her Office Had Previously Heard A Rumor About Massa, But That There Had Been ‘No Formal Notification’ Of Allegations Against Him.” (Jonathan Allen and Josh Bresnahan, “Nancy Pelosi Aide Knew Of Eric Massa Concerns In October,” Politico, 3/10/10)
• “‘I asked my staff, I said, “Have there been any rumors about any of this before?”’ Pelosi said last week. ‘There had been a rumor, but just that, no formal notification to our office that anything — a one-, two-, three-person-removed rumor that had been reported to Mr. Hoyer’s office that had been reported to my staff, which they didn’t report to me, because, you know what? This is rumor city. Every single day there are rumors. I have a job to do and not to be the receiver of rumors.’” (Jonathan Allen and Josh Bresnahan, “Nancy Pelosi Aide Knew Of Eric Massa Concerns In October,” Politico, 3/10/10)
Now comes word that her office was informed of Massa’s extracurricular activities back in October 2009 by Massa’s Chief of Staff Joe Racalto. Coming from the Chief of Staff would be much more than just a rumor, don’t you think?
Pelosi’s Office Informed In October 2009 About Massa’s Behavior. “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office was notified in October by then-Rep. Eric Massa's top aide of concerns about the New York Democrat's behavior, two congressional sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday night.” (Carol D. Leonnig, “Nancy Pelosi’s Office Was Told Of Concerns About Eric Massa,” The Washington Post, 3/11/10)
“Joe Racalto, Massa's Chief Of Staff, Was Uneasy That Massa, 50, Was Living With Several Young, Unmarried Male Staffers And Using Sexually Explicit Language With Them, One Source Said.” (Carol D. Leonnig, “Nancy Pelosi’s Office Was Told Of Concerns About Eric Massa,” The Washington Post, 3/11/10)
“But What Finally Prompted Him To Call Pelosi's Director Of Member Services, The Source Said, Was A Lunch Date That Massa Made With A Congressional Aide In His 20s Who Worked In The Office Of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).” (Carol D. Leonnig, “Nancy Pelosi’s Office Was Told Of Concerns About Eric Massa,” The Washington Post, 3/11/10)
• “According to a person briefed on the call, Racalto was concerned that the lunch followed a pattern by Massa -- who is married and has two children -- of trying to spend time alone with young gay men with no ostensible work purpose.” (Carol D. Leonnig, “Nancy Pelosi’s Office Was Told Of Concerns About Eric Massa,” The Washington Post, 3/11/10)
Sounds like Pelosi is either lying or she is out of touch with what is going on in the House, including her own staff. History says its probably the former and not the latter. You may recall a little less than a year ago, Pelosi was caught in another situation where she feigned knowledge of the use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT), only to be found out later that she did know, or that at least her staff did.
In April 2009, Pelosi Said Congressional Leaders Were Never Briefed On EITs:
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Today Said Congressional Leaders Were Never Briefed About The Use Of An Enhanced Interrogation Practice, Rejecting GOP Claims That Leadership Was Aware Of The Controversial Tactics By Late 2002.” (Paul Kane, “Pelosi Denies Knowing Interrogation Techniques Were Used,” The Washington Post, 4/23/09)
“‘Flat Out, They Never Briefed Us That This Was Happening,’ She Said.” (Paul Kane, “Pelosi Denies Knowing Interrogation Techniques Were Used,” The Washington Post, 4/23/09)
• “Pelosi denied these claims. ‘We were not -- I repeat -- were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used. What they did tell us is that they had . . . the Office of Legal Counsel opinions [and] that they could be used, but not that they would,’ she said.” (Paul Kane, “Pelosi Denies Knowing Interrogation Techniques Were Used,” The Washington Post, 4/23/09)
But CIA Documents Showed Pelosi And Others Were Briefed:
“Congressional Leaders Were Briefed In Detail About Techniques Used In The Central Intelligence Agency’s Interrogation Program, According To A New Intelligence Document.” (Siobhan Gorman, “CIA Says It Briefed Congressional Leaders,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/8/09)
Pelosi And Porter Goss Were The First To Receive Briefings. “. . . the first of which was provided to then-House intelligence committee chairman Porter Goss, a Florida Republican, and Ms. Pelosi of California on Sept. 4, 2002.” (Siobhan Gorman, “CIA Says It Briefed Congressional Leaders,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/8/09)
• “In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics.” (Paul Kane, “CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed On Use Of ‘Enhanced Interrogations,’” The Washington Post, 5/7/09)
“At The Time, Pelosi Was The Top Democrat On The House Intelligence Committee.” (Rick Klein, “Intelligence Report: Pelosi Briefed On Use Of Interrogation Tactics In Sept. ‘02,” ABC News, 5/7/09)
“The Meeting Is Described As A ‘Briefing On EITs Including Use Of EITs On Abu Zubaydah, Background On Authorities, And A Description Of Particular EITs That Had Been Employed.’” (Rick Klein, “Intelligence Report: Pelosi Briefed On Use Of Interrogation Tactics In Sept. ‘02,” ABC News, 5/7/09)
A Top Pelosi Aide Was Also Briefed:
Pelosi’s Top Aide Was Briefed In Early 2003 On Waterboarding. “A top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended a CIA briefing in early 2003 in which it was made clear that waterboarding and other harsh techniques were being used in the interrogation of an alleged al-Qaeda operative, according to documents the CIA released to Congress on Thursday.” (Paul Kane, “Top Pelosi Aide Learned Of Waterboarding In 2003,” The Washington Post, 5/9/09)
Top Pelosi Aide Michael Sheehy Received The Briefing Along With Jane Harman On Use Of Waterboarding On Abu Zubaydah. “But Michael Sheehy, a top Pelosi aide, was present for a classified briefing that included Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), then the ranking minority member of the House intelligence committee, at which agency officials discussed the use of waterboarding on terrorism suspect Abu Zubaida.” (Paul Kane, “Top Pelosi Aide Learned Of Waterboarding In 2003,” The Washington Post, 5/9/09)
“Pelosi Would Have Learned About The Use Of Waterboarding From Sheehy.” “A Democratic source acknowledged yesterday that it is almost certain that Pelosi would have learned about the use of waterboarding from Sheehy. Pelosi herself acknowledged in a December 2007 statement that she was aware that Harman had learned of the waterboarding and had objected in a letter to the CIA’s top counsel.” (Paul Kane, “Top Pelosi Aide Learned Of Waterboarding In 2003,” The Washington Post, 5/9/09)
Pelosi Still Denied Knowing Anything:
On Thursday, May 7, 2009, Pelosi’s Office Said The Speaker Had Never Been “Briefed About The Use Of Waterboarding.” “In a carefully worded statement, Pelosi’s office said today that she had never been briefed about the use of waterboarding, only that it had been approved by Bush administration lawyers as a legal technique to use in interrogations.” (Paul Kane, “CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed On Use Of ‘Enhanced Interrogations,’” The Washington Post, 5/7/09)
Aide Did Tell Pelosi, But She Did Nothing:
In Early 2003, Pelosi Did Learn Of The Use Of Waterboarding. “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi learned in early 2003 that the Bush administration was waterboarding terror detainees but didn’t protest directly out of respect for “appropriate” legislative channels, a person familiar with the situation said Monday.” (Glenn Thrush and John Bresnahan, “Pelosi’s Defense: Couldn’t Object In ’03,” Politico, 5/11/09)
• “The Pelosi camp’s version of events is intended to answer two key questions posed by her critics: When, precisely, did she first learn about waterboarding? And why didn’t she do more to stop it?” (Glenn Thrush and John Bresnahan, “Pelosi’s Defense: Couldn’t Object In ’03,” Politico, 5/11/09)Pelosi Aide Michael Sheehy Attended Briefing With Rep. Jane Harman In Which Waterboarding Of Abu Zubaydah Was Discussed. “But there’s no dispute that on Feb. 4, 2003 — five months after Pelosi’s September meeting — CIA officials briefed Pelosi aide Michael Sheehy and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), then the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, on the specific techniques that had been used on Zubaydah — including waterboarding.” (Glenn Thrush and John Bresnahan, “Pelosi’s Defense: Couldn’t Object In ’03,” Politico, 5/11/09)
Harman Was Alarmed, Wrote Letter To CIA General Counsel. “Harman was so alarmed by what she had heard, she drafted a short letter to the CIA’s general counsel to express ‘profound’ concerns with the tactic — going so far as to ask if waterboarding had been personally ‘approved by the president.’” (Glenn Thrush and John Bresnahan, “Pelosi’s Defense: Couldn’t Object In ’03,” Politico, 5/11/09)
Sheehy Told Pelosi Of The Briefing And Of Harman’s Letter. “According to the Pelosi confidant, Sheehy told Pelosi about the briefing — and later informed Pelosi, the newly elected minority leader, that Harman was drafting a protest letter.” (Glenn Thrush and John Bresnahan, “Pelosi’s Defense: Couldn’t Object In ’03,” Politico, 5/11/09)Pelosi Felt It Was Inappropriate To Respond Herself And Figured Nothing More Could Be Done. “‘She felt that the appropriate response was the letter from Harman, because Jane was the one who was briefed,’ said the person. Pelosi ‘never got briefed on it personally, and when Harman got a ‘no response’ from the CIA, there was nothing more that could be done.’” (Glenn Thrush and John Bresnahan, “Pelosi’s Defense: Couldn’t Object In ’03,” Politico, 5/11/09)
Pelosi Was The Most Powerful Democrat In The House At The Time, Serving As House Minority Leader. “Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the 61-year-old grandmother from San Francisco with a perpetual smile, was sworn in as the first woman minority leader Tuesday and also became the first woman to be nominated for House speaker.” (Phil Zuckman, “Pelosi Becomes First Woman Minority Leader In House,” Chicago Tribune, 1/7/03)
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