Newsweek:

CIA director Leon Panetta has ordered an internal inquiry into the agency's handling of a contentious and still highly-classified intelligence program that has caused a heated dispute between the CIA and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee. The move by Panetta appears to be an implicit acknowledgement by the agency that it should have disclosed information about the post-9/11 secret program to Congress much earlier than it did.

The internal CIA probe was described by an official with first-hand knowledge as a review by a senior agency officer—rather than a formal investigation by the inspector general's office. The senior officer is not connected with the National Clandestine Service, the CIA branch whose actions are under scrutiny, according to the official who is familiar with the inquiry.

CIA and congressional officials have refused to describe the nature of the covert program, but insisted it is not connected to the CIA's use of controversial "enhanced" interrogation techniques. But the program's existence erupted into a major political dispute Wednesday night when seven House Intelligence Committee Democrats released a letter charging that the agency had "concealed significant actions" and "mislead" members of Congress by failing to inform the oversight committees about the program until last month. The Democrats demanded that Panetta "publicly correct" his statement last May 15 declaring "it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress." ...

Posted by Laura at July 9, 2009 05:47 PM