Colin Powell’s Top Aide says CIA Does Lie, Congress is Spineless

The former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell — who of late has been supportive of more liberal positions — launched a stunning broadside against the Democratic-controlled Congress Wednesday, asserting that it’s been “spineless” when it comes to oversight and the most feckless he’s seen in 65 years.

Former Powell aide Col. Lawrence Wilkerson said he agrees with Democrats who say the CIA isn’t known for telling the truth. But he also launched a salvo at Congress for its alleged failure to investigate abuses of power.

“We could have less feckless leadership in the Congress in terms of oversight,” Wilkerson said. “And I’m not just talking about the Select Committees in the House and the Senate for Intelligence. I’m talking about the leadership in the Congress.

“This has been the most feckless Congress ever since 2000 that I’ve seen in my 65 years,” Wilkerson added. “I just don’t think there’s leadership over there. It’s spineless, it lacks courage, lacks political will.

He continued: “I shudder for the fact that we’ve got to face these economic and financial challenges we’ve got to face — Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea and other things — and we don’t have a Congress that has any leadership.”

Wilkerson also told CNN’s Kiran Chetry that the CIA regularly didn’t tell the whole truth in briefings. “The leadership of the CIA does not have a stellar record about telling the full and unequivocal truth about its covert operations,” he said.

But Wilkerson doesn’t think that an investigation into the CIA’s practices would bear fruit. “I doubt very seriously if [Speaker Nancy Pelosi] has the kind of power — and I mean this seriously — to cause evidence to come forward from the CIA that would be self-incriminating. I just don’t think that’s going to happen.”