Greg Sargent gets a statement from Nancy Pelosi:
We all share great respect for the dedicated men and women of the intelligence community who are deeply committed to the safety and security of the American people. My criticism of the manner in which the Bush Administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe. What is important now is to be united in our commitment to ensuring the security of our country; that, and how Congress exercises its oversight responsibilities, will continue to be my focus as we move forward.
Yesterday Pelosi said "the CIA was misleading the Congress." Today she says that the Bush administration misled Congress. Only hours after CIA director Leon Panetta doubled down and put out a statement saying the CIA had "briefed [Pelosi] truthfully," Pelosi's response is to heap praise on the CIA and try and refocus this debate on a far easier target: the Bush administration. How to read this as anything but a concession to some hard political truths? Pelosi can't win a fight with Obama's CIA and she's already so badly mismanaged this situation that her least bad option is to retreat, lick her wounds, and hope things cool down. The Speaker now wants to "move forward."
This won't kill the story, but Pelosi has at least stopped digging. If she's lucky, the administration might throw her a bone and announce a nominee to the Court on Monday.
