WASHINGTON — Congressional demands for an investigation grew on Monday over new disclosures that a secret CIA program to capture or kill al-Qaeda leaders was concealed from Congress for eight years, perhaps at the behest of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
The program, which never got off the ground and remains shrouded in mystery, was designed to target leaders of the terrorism network at close range, rather than with airstrikes that risked civilian casualties, officials with knowledge of the operation said Monday.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The program was canceled last month by CIA Director Leon Panetta shortly after he first learned of it.
Some Democratic lawmakers suggested the failure to notify congressional intelligence committees violated oversight laws.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that House and Senate intelligence committees should “take whatever actions they believe are necessary to get more information on the subject,” including whether Cheney played a role in proposing the secret program and hiding information from Congress.
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., joining those calling for a thorough investigations, said, “Individuals who ordered that Congress be kept in the dark should be held accountable.”
But defenders of Cheney suggested that no laws were broken because the counterterrorism program never got beyond the talking stage.
However, the issue might come down to whether tax dollars were spent on planning, making the expenditure subject to congressional scrutiny.
Robert Gibbs, President Barrack Obama’s spokesman, said Panetta was reviewing how keeping the information from congressional intelligence leaders “came to pass, and I think that’s wise.”
“The president believes that Congress should always be briefed fully and in a timely manner in accordance with the law. Those are his beliefs as it relates to any of these programs,” Gibbs said.
As to a related controversy, reports that Attorney General Eric Holder may be leaning toward having a criminal prosecutor look into whether U.S. interrogators tortured terror suspects, Gibbs repeated the president’s earlier statement that “our efforts are better focused looking forward than looking back.”
