Via TPM here it is in its entirety:

“On one occasion, in the fall of 2002, I was briefed on interrogation techniques the Administration was considering using in the future. The Administration advised that legal counsel for the both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal.

“I had no further briefings on the techniques. Several months later, my successor as Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman, was briefed more extensively and advised the techniques had in fact been employed. It was my understanding at that time that Congresswoman Harman filed a [secret Sternly Worded] letter in early 2003 to the CIA to protest the use of such techniques, a protest with which I concurred.”

Right, then, that’s sorted.

Ackerman says Pelosi just threw Harmon under a bus. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

And who the heck is that blurred face in the background? Steney Hoyer?

UPDATE What Scarecrow says:

Democrats should not allow themselves to be blackmailed. Go public. Get it out there. All of it.

The Democratic Party must respond, but it cannot possibly be well served by leaving this investigation in the hands of Committee chairs who have already proven to be compromised or derelict. Nor does it serve the nation’s interests to allow the continuing disgrace of the Administration’s torture and detainee policies to continue without clear repudiation from Democrats. We need to expose these national disgraces, condemn them, and hold those responsible accountable to the law.

We also need a credible Congressional Investigative Committee to hold open, public sessions so that the American people can learn and confront what has been done in our names. If Congress is to perform this task, it cannot be left to either the Senate or House Intelligence Committees, because the actions (or acquiescence) of those Committees’ current or past leadership is part of what needs to be investigated and exposed.

We will need a special, joint investigative committee composed of and led by those whose integrity on these matters is unquestioned. Others have suggested, and I agree, that Senator Feingold (or Whitehouse) and House Member Holt would be ideal chairs for the Joint Investigation. This is the test of leadership, and now is the time for the Party’s real leaders to step forward.

To me, a far better option than a Special Prosecutor. Let’s do some oversight. Let the Truth and Reconcilation start now!

UPDATE It’s instructive to compare the WaPo story and Pelosi’s statement:

Here’s her statement via TPM:

“On one occasion, in the fall of 2002, I was briefed on interrogation techniques the Administration was considering using in the future. The Administration advised that legal counsel for the both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal.

Here’s the WaPo “smear”:

For more than an hour, the Bipartisan group, which included future-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA’s overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Pelosi: “fall of 2002” WaPo: “September 2002”

Pelosi: “One meeting.” WaPo: “For more than an hour”

Pelosi: “interrogation techniques the Administration was considering using” WaPo: “harsh techniques interrogators had devised”

If you agree that the salient details for any meeting are the date and the subject matter, then there’s no smear here, because WaPo and Pelosi are in agreement.

True, Pelosi says that she was told the program was legal, and if she didn’t check into that, I don’t think it speaks well of her.

And true, Pelosi doesn’t mention the virtual tour, but her statement doesn’t rule it out either, and in any case it’s irrelevant to the subject matter.

And true, maybe nobody came right out and said the evil words “torture” or even waterboarding. And so what? Everybody knows torture is cloaked in euphemism; a child could penetrate “interrogation techniques” even without the word “harsh.” Does anybody think that if non “extreme” methods were used, they wouldn’t be rushing to say so now?

We can go around and round on the details and get ourselves all wrapped around the axle with obfuscation, but to me, there is an extremely plausible bottom line and it has nothing to do with any smear.

1. The Democratic leadership knew or should have known that Bush was using or was going to use torture since 2002 — that’s the date and the subject matter of the meetings.

2. Only now — five years later — are we even close to doing some oversight on this, and then only for destroyed tapes, and not the program as a whole.

That’s an outrage on simple human decency. We expect that from the Republicans. I’d hate to start expecting it from my own party.