Rep. Israel: Cheney ‘must be held accountable’

Former Vice President Dick Cheney “must be held accountable” for having allegedly directed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to withhold information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said Sunday.

Israel joined a chorus of Democratic lawmakers on Sunday to call for an investigation into Cheney’s role in keeping information from members of Congress who are required to be briefed. Israel, however, seemed to go a step further, suggesting that Cheney had lied — and that the former vice president should face repercussions.

Israel tweeted Sunday evening:

You deserve the truth and Dick Cheney lied. Must be held accountable.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Cheney personally ordered a still-undisclosed program concealed from members of Congress.

That program had made headlines this week after Democratic members of Congress wrote CIA director Leon Panetta asking him to apologize to lawmakers for insisting, contrary to the assertions of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), that the CIA had never misled Congress in its classified briefings.

Attorney General Eric Holder, meanwhile, has reportedly been eyeballing naming a special prosecutor to investigate Bush administration counterterrorism initiatives.

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room