Hoekstra v. Pelosi - Her Actions "Made Us More Vulnerable"

The Detroit News covers the Hoeksta-Pelosi scuffle:

Rep. Hoekstra lashes out at Pelosi
Republican accuses speaker of hurting intelligence work
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- Rep. Pete Hoekstra says he's just trying to stand up for those at "the tip of the spear" in the fight against terrorism. Democrats say he's trying to tear down their party's leader in the House -- and boost his own campaign for governor.

Regardless of the motivation, the Holland Republican has never been more in the national spotlight. The ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Hoekstra has become the GOP's point man in attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing the speaker of demoralizing intelligence professionals by pushing for investigation of Bush-era interrogation tactics and suggesting the CIA was misleading in post-9/11 briefings on those tactics.

..."She has become a single-person wrecking crew going through the intel community," said Hoekstra, who accuses the speaker of seeking to prosecute rank-and-file CIA personnel who were following orders and legal guidance from elected officials.

The Washington Times has this from Tuesday:

In an interview with editors and reporters, Mr. Hoekstra said Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, hasn't done anything illegal that would disqualify her from being speaker, but said Democrats will have to decide whether she is the right person to lead them. Still, he said, from his standpoint, she has endangered the country.

"She has single-handedly become a wrecking ball, a wrecking crew through the morale of the intelligence community," he said. "These are people that have been on the front lines. They have seen their friends die, and they have taken risks to keep America safe, and this speaker has now said you may be prosecuted."

To which I will add that on a Wednesday call with bloggers, Rep. Hoekstra said of Ms. Pelosi that "The actions she has taken have made us more vulnerable".

The Dem pushback on the CIA morale problem is not wholly satisfying:

Nonsense, said a Democratic aide, who responded to Hoekstra's charge on condition of anonymity.

The aide said President Barack Obama has long said low-level intelligence officers won't be prosecuted, making Hoekstra's claim false.

No, Obama has said that officials who acted within the guidance provided by the Justice Department won't be prosecuted.  I suspect there are CIA officials who went near enough to the line to be worried, and there are probably some who went over it.  It remains an open question whether the DoJ will aggressively investigate these possibilities.

Comments

[hit and run]

[[Nonsense, said a Democratic aide, who responded to Hoekstra's charge on condition of anonymity.

The aide said President Barack Obama has long said low-level intelligence officers won't be prosecuted]]

I'll say it again, drawing from Geraghty:

"All statements by Barack Obama come with an expiration date. All of them."

"Nonsense...Obama said..." is as reassuring as a promise as "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." is as a denial.

[maryrose]

What Obama says today will quickly be reversed tomorrow, I guarantee it. Ultimately his final word on any issue is a resounding"We won the election."

[bad]

Somewhere, yesterday, I read that Obama was still mulling releasing photos.

Perhaps it was an article about his meeting with human rights organizations.

[Danube of Thought]

"The aide said President Barack Obama has long said low-level intelligence officers won't be prosecuted, making Hoekstra's claim false."

Does that dumb son of a bitch think the only way your morale can be lowered is by the threat of prosecution?

[Martin]

"We cannot have an intelligence community that covers up what it does and then lies to Congress."

That’s what Pete Hoekstra said in 2008 when the CIA lied its ass off about blowing the missionaries out of the sky in Peru.

[narciso]

No, Martin, that was the genius of Rand Beers, state department flak and wannabe Kerry administration factotum, they had to cover for his flawed interdiction policy.

[Topsecretk9]

or when they lied about Plame being covert. Now that was a CIA LIE.

[pagar]

"Perhaps it was an article about his meeting with human rights organizations."

From Gateway Pundit.

"Speaking to human rights officials on Wednesday, the president also left the door open for the future release of detainee abuse photos, saying that his administration's current opposition to the release was dictated by immediate concern over the complications it could cause to America's mission in Afghanistan.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Massimino detailed what she described as a "lively and detailed and serious" discussion on some of the days most vexing national security issues. Over the course of roughly an hour and fifteen minutes, Obama, along with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Attorney General Eric Holder, advisers Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod, foreign policy hand Dennis McDonough, and counter-terrorism chief John Brennan, held court with a group of academics, as well as officials with the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and the Center for Constitutional Rights."

I wonder why they didn't invite CAIR and a few others, who are always so concerned about Human Rights, as long as they are not American Human Rights.

Was there anyone at the meeting representing us?

LUN

[bad]

[[Was there anyone at the meeting representing us?]]

Of course not, pagar. We're taxpayers {cash cows} not humans....

[Jane]

The president seems concerned that he is losing his base support.

"Lie to me" comes to mind.

[Martin]

The CIA didn't lie about Plame.

They've only lied about the things that have made Democrats look bad.