Pelosi Knew Specific Acts Of Torture For Years
In 2006, when the Democrats were campaigning for control of the House of Representatives, with Nancy Pelosi presumed to be in the position to become Speaker of the House, Pelosi abruptly pledged that, no matter what crimes the Bush Administration had committed through torture, or other means, there would be no effort to impeach George W. Bush. At the time, this preemptive refusal to hold President Bush accountable to the law was puzzling. Now, with new revelations about CIA briefings of congressional leaders, Pelosi’s defense of George W. Bush makes perfect sense.
It appears that Pelosi was in on the crimes. By 2006, she already had known about them for years, and had neglected to use her power in Congress to conduct oversight. Pelosi, as the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, had given the crimes her stamp of approval.
New reports from the CIA indicate that Pelosi had been given details about the Bush Administration’s use of specific acts of torture in repeated briefings. The first time Pelosi learned about the Bush White House’s premeditated use of torture was September 4, 2002. In that briefing, Pelosi was told about the use of waterboarding torture on a specific prisoner. She was told that the prisoner had been nearly drowned 83 times.
Nancy Pelosi did nothing to stop the torture from continuing. She gave it her approval.
Pelosi has claimed that she never was told about specific instances of torture. The CIA report indicates that she was, and that she has been lying to voters for years about her involvement in torture.
As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is second in line to succeed to the Presidency. Her record of involvement in presidential-directed torture makes her an inappropriate person to be so close to the White House itself. The revelations about Pelosi’s early and ongoing involvement in the Bush Administration’s torture plans create a test of the integrity of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. Will they allow Pelosi to retain her position as Speaker of the House?
