Cheney Hopes 'Old Friend' Panetta Was Misquoted

By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2009 6:06 PM CDT
Cheney Hopes 'Old Friend' Panetta Was Misquoted
FILE -- In this Feb. 25, 2009 file photo, CIA Director Leon Panetta speaks with reporters, at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Va.,   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

As the CIA scrambled to do damage control today in the wake of director Leon Panetta's New Yorker interview, Dick Cheney fired back. The former VP's office released a statement that reads in full: "I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted. The important thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the past eight years."

"The Director does not believe the former Vice President wants an attack," a CIA rep told CNN, adding that Panetta didn't "question anyone's motives." (More Dick Cheney stories.)

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