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Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday rallied to beat back calls for a bipartisan investigation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 claim that the Central Intelligence Agency lied to her in a September 2002 briefing.

The furor over her criticism of the CIA, they said, points to a truth of post-9/11 Washington: It has become politically risky to at throw stones the nation's security apparatus.

In dispute is what the CIA told Speaker Pelosi about severe interrogation methods, such as waterboarding. CIA officials say they told her these methods had been used against a detainee. She says they told her these methods had merely been approved for use.

Midday Thursday, Republican leader John Boehner called on Pelosi to produce evidence to back up her allegations: 鈥淭he American people place their trust in our intelligence officials to keep them safe, and I think they deserve answers as quickly as possible.鈥�

Later in the day, the House voted down party lines, 252 to 172, to derail a Republican resolution to set up a bipartisan congressional panel 鈥� two Democrats and two Republicans 鈥� to investigate Pelosi鈥檚 allegations.

After the vote, the Democrats went on the offensive. Majority leader Steny Hoyer noted that Republicans have themselves accused the CIA of misrepresenting facts.

As one example, he cited Republican leader Mr. Boehner, who on Dec. 9, 2007, said: 鈥淓ither I don鈥檛 have confidence in what the intelligence community told me several months ago, or I don鈥檛 have confidence in what they鈥檙e telling me today."

He also noted a comment by Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence committee, who on Nov. 20, 2008, said that the intelligence community "covers up what it does and then lies to Congress."

鈥淭he Republican Party has been pursuing a policy of distraction,鈥� Representative Hoyer said. It鈥檚 an attempt to divert attention from the Bush administration鈥檚 treatment of prisoners, he added; 鈥渢reatment that, clearly, every American would abhor it if such treatment were visited upon our own soldiers and citizens."

Blasting the CIA was a common event on Capitol Hill in the mid-1970s, when sensational investigations on CIA misdeeds at home and abroad chaired by Sen. Frank Church (D) of Idaho led to the creation of a permanent intelligence oversight committees on Capitol Hill.

鈥淲hat changed was the fact that we had so many Americans murdered in 2001,鈥� says Rep. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts. 鈥淪o there is now an element of, 鈥極h, the CIA protects us.' "

Commenting on Pelosi鈥檚 charges, he said: 鈥淭here are two possibilities: One, that nobody in the CIA has ever misled the Congress 鈥� and I think that鈥檚 unlikely 鈥� or, two, that you should never say it even if it were true, and I think that鈥檚 wrong.鈥�

Moreover, it鈥檚 not unusual for members attending the same intelligence briefing to come out with different views of what was said, suggests Rep. John Murtha (D) of Pennsylvania, who chairs the House Appropriations panel that oversees the CIA budget.

鈥淚t鈥檚 confusing to me what the CIA says in many cases," he says. "The thing is you have to know enough to ask the right question, and even then you may not get the right answer.鈥�

"I know as much about defense as anyone in the country, and it is not easy,鈥� he adds. 鈥淵ou go to a briefing, you listen to them, and you may interpret it differently than someone else.鈥�

The outpouring of Democratic support was a clear signal that party lawmakers are mounting a defense of their speaker.

The longest-serving current House member, Rep. John Dingell (D) of Michigan, adds: 鈥淢y experience with the CIA is that they鈥檙e not as complete as I鈥檇 want them to be.鈥�