Democrats block probe of Pelosi

House Democrats today rebuffed the latest bid by Republicans to pummel Speaker Nancy Pelosi over what she knew about waterboarding and her accusations that the CIA misled her.

The House voted 252-172 to block a GOP measure that would have created a bipartisan congressional panel to investigate Pelosi's claims, which current CIA director Leon Panetta has denied.

All New England representatives who voted on the measure voted against investigating Pelosi.

Republicans have pilloried Pelosi, saying she should offer proof that the CIA lied to her during a 2002 briefing, as she asserted last week, or apologize.

"To have this charge out there and not have it resolved I think is damaging to our intelligence efforts, and certainly will have a chilling effect on our intelligence professionals around the world," House Republican Leader John Boehner told reporters.

“Speaker Pelosi has made serious allegations, and it is incumbent that Congress—in an open, transparent and bipartisan way – investigate Speaker Pelosi’s claims that the men and women in the intelligence community, who dedicate their lives to defending this country, lied to her and Congress on numerous occasions. The Speaker is the second in line for the Presidency, and the weight of the allegations against America’s top foreign intelligence agency makes this bipartisan investigation necessary," Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said in a statement.

“Considerable questions remain unanswered and the American people deserve to judge the evidence and facts that the Speaker is basing her allegations on to ensure that the next step taken is the right one.”

Pelosi's supporters dismissed the measure as pure politics.

"This is partisan politics and an attempt by the Republicans to distract from the real issue of creating jobs and making progress on health care, energy and education," Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami told the Associated Press.