CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress last month that senior CIA officials have concealed significant actions and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001, the chairman and other members of the House Intelligence Committee said in letters revealed Wednesday.
Exactly what actions Panetta disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 is unclear, but committee chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said that the CIA outright lied in one case.
"These notifications have led me to conclude that this committee has been misled, has not been provided full and complete notifications, and (in at least one case) was affirmatively lied to," Reyes wrote in a letter Tuesday to Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the committee's senior Republican. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
Reyes said in the letter that he is considering opening a full investigation.
Panetta brought the matters to the committee's attention, CIA spokesman George Little said Wednesday.
"It is not the policy or practice of the CIA to mislead Congress. This agency and this director believe it is vital to keep the Congress fully and currently informed. Director Panetta's actions back that up," Little said in a statement to the AP. "It was the CIA itself that took the initiative to notify the oversight committees."
Calling the men and women of the CIA "honest, hardworking patriots," Reyes maintained his support for Panetta.
"I understand his direction to be that the Agency does not and will not lie to Congress, and he has set a high standard for truth in reporting to Congress," Reyes said in the statement.
"I believe that CIA has, in the vast majority of matters, told the truth. But in rare instances, certain officers have not adhered to the high standards. ... Both Director Panetta and I are determined to make sure this does not happen again."
Exactly what actions Panetta disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee on June 24 is unclear, but committee chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said that the CIA outright lied in one case.
"These notifications have led me to conclude that this committee has been misled, has not been provided full and complete notifications, and (in at least one case) was affirmatively lied to," Reyes wrote in a letter Tuesday to Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the committee's senior Republican. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
Reyes said in the letter that he is considering opening a full investigation.
Panetta brought the matters to the committee's attention, CIA spokesman George Little said Wednesday.
"It is not the policy or practice of the CIA to mislead Congress. This agency and this director believe it is vital to keep the Congress fully and currently informed. Director Panetta's actions back that up," Little said in a statement to the AP. "It was the CIA itself that took the initiative to notify the oversight committees."
Calling the men and women of the CIA "honest, hardworking patriots," Reyes maintained his support for Panetta.
"I understand his direction to be that the Agency does not and will not lie to Congress, and he has set a high standard for truth in reporting to Congress," Reyes said in the statement.
"I believe that CIA has, in the vast majority of matters, told the truth. But in rare instances, certain officers have not adhered to the high standards. ... Both Director Panetta and I are determined to make sure this does not happen again."
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