Tuesday, April 21, 2009

CIA denies Cheney made demand

POLITICO

The Obama administration denied Tuesday that former Vice President Dick Cheney had directly asked the CIA to declassify memos that he claims would vindicate Bush-era techniques for harsh interrogation of suspected terrorists.

A senior U.S. intelligence offical e-mailed: "The Agency has received no such request from the former Vice President.”

A source familiar with the request said the former vice president made the request to the National Archives, and said that is the appropriate process for requesting declassification.

On Monday, after Cheney made the statement to Fox News, the CIA declined to comment.

When reporters at Tuesday's White House briefing asked press secretary Robert Gibbs about the existence of such memos, he referred the question to the CIA.

POLITICO has asked the National Archives for comment and will post it when it arrives.

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