ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: One of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leading Republican critics is calling on his colleagues to suspend the speaker’s security clearances, until or unless her disagreement with the CIA is resolved.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said on ABCNews.com’s “Top Line” today that Pelosi, D-Calif., “can’t be trusted with intelligence secrets until this matter is cleared up.”
“The speaker’s intelligence security credentials are in question. I think this Congress needs to consider whether we would suspend that and ask her whether she will step down or step aside until such time as this matter is cleared up,” said King, who said he agreed with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich that Democrats should replace Pelosi as speaker.
“The briefings that take place on the fourth floor of the Capitol building will not be at the level of confidence and the ability of the members to keep that secure,” he added. “And certainly I think at this point the speaker can’t be trusted with intelligence secrets until this matter is cleared up.”
Pelosi last week accused intelligence officials of “misleading the Congress of the United States” by not fully briefing her about waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. CIA Director Leon Panetta maintains that she was fully and accurately briefed.
King’s idea for a House floor vote on security clearances is not being embraced by House GOP leadership, according to Capitol Hill sources.
But Republican leaders are considering other ways to force all House members to take a stand on the controversy surrounding Pelosi before the Memorial Day break.
One concept being discussed would involve a vote on whether the House intelligence committee should investigate Pelosi’s allegations. Such a vote would almost certainly fail along party lines, but would force House Democrats into a politically awkward vote.
“There are a number of different ideas on the table,” King said. “We do go home for this Memorial [Day] break so there is a concern that this will dissipate over time. If it does then it’ll be the country that pays the price.”
Though Democrats are lining up behind the speaker, King predicted that splits will begin to appear inside the party.
“I think they have to decide whether national security means more to them then holding their party together,” he said. “At some point Democrats are going to have to decide whether — it probably will be a political decision on their part — whether their seats become vulnerable. If they think they’re going to lose their seats then they’re going to join Republicans in this growing movement to stand up for national security and set aside partisanship.”
“I expect to see that fairly soon and they’re all kinds of factions within the Democratic caucus that are pulling against each other right now,” King added. “But they are not standing on the steps of the US Capitol in solidarity with Nancy Pelosi today, and I don’t expect that’s going to happen because they don’t have any confidence that what she said was the truth.”
Watch the interview with Rep. Steve King HERE.
Also today, we spoke with Ana Marie Cox, of Air America, about Pelosi, Michael Steele’s efforts to turn around the Republican Party, and tomorrow’s dueling speeches pitting President Obama against former Vice President Dick Cheney.
(Guess which speech she’ll be attending.)
Watch our interview with Ana Marie Cox HERE.
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