Why couldn't she just come clean weeks ago-or years ago? Fleeing to Iraq may have gotten her out of a sticky situation in a clear spin stunt: now she -- through a "confidant" -- is forced to finally fess up the truth: she knew about the water boarding, but now claims did not protest out of respect for "appropriate legislative channels".

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi learned in early 2003 that the Bush administration was waterboarding terror detainees but didn't protest directly out of respect for "appropriate" legislative channels, a confidant of the San Francisco Democrat said Monday.