Secret Program Fuels CIA-Congress Dispute

Democrats Accuse Agency of Pattern of Withholding Information From Lawmakers

By Paul Kane and Ben Pershing
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 10, 2009

Four months after he was sworn in, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta learned of an intelligence program that had been hidden from Congress since 2001, a revelation that prompted him to immediately cancel the initiative and schedule a pair of closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill.

The next day, June 24, Panetta informed the House and Senate intelligence committees of the program and the action he had taken, according to Democratic and Republican members of the panels.