n Britain I'd assume that briefings that disclosed something like waterboarding would be under Official Secrets, with threats of imprisonment if anything were revealed. If anyone from Pelosi's office, including her, was briefed they might have been threatened with Gitmo if they took any action that could possibly be attributed to the briefing. (There is an active theory that something similar was done in the 1988 presidential race, when Dukakis was taken off for a briefing on Top Secret matters the day before his major debate with Bush Senior--a debate that was conspicuous for the absence of attacks related to Iran-Contra, which had been one of Dukakis's main talking points for months previous. But maybe that was a coincidence.)

It's easier to believe that the briefings failed to clarify what was being done, or to what extent, or both.

It's marvelous that Gingrich et al are suddenly acknowledging that something bad was done. I'm with you in thinking that the investigation needs to start both earlier and at higher levels that the question of what did Nancy know and when did she know it.