Pelosi: 'I Stand By' Accusation Against CIA

In her first public comments since accusing the CIA of lying to Congress about Bush-era interrogation methods, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she stood by her statement.

Then she refused to make any more remarks, attempting to tamp down a story that she fueled last week that Republicans now want her to prove.

"I have made the statement that I'm going to make on this. I don't have any more to say on this," she said at her weekly news conference. "I stand by my comments. And what we are doing is staying on our course and not being distracted from it."

Pelosi brought backup with her: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and other members of the Democratic leadership flanked her but none of them dared touch the CIA controversy. Instead they took turns talking about every issue under the sun -- the economy, health care, energy policy, credit cards -- except Pelosi's allegations.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the panel tasked with getting party members elected to the House, immediately slammed Pelosi.

"Speaker Pelosi stammered and filibustered around the elephant in the room because she knows full well that she has become a political liability to her fellow Democrats in Congress," NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said in a statement.

"Her obsession with the previous administration and her disdain for America's intelligence officials has reduced her to cheerleader status within the far left wing of her party and a distraction to the substantive debate over how to best move our economy forward," he added.

Pelosi first lobbed the accusation against the CIA last week in a news conference that even some Democrats considered disastrous.

Her performance, which included many awkward and uncomfortable moments, unleashed a torrent of questions about her accusation and numerous efforts by Republicans to investigate her claim.

In the week since Pelosi's accusation, some Republicans have called on the FBI to investigate what is a crime -- lying to Congress -- and say Pelosi owes the CIA an apology if it's found to be untrue.

FOX News' Jim Angle and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05 ... ation-cia/