Seymour Hersh Stands By Reporting On Cheney Assassination Squad

"I said what I said, they can always say what they say," Hersh told The Daily Beast. "The last time they said the government doesn’t torture, this time it's the government doesn’t assassinate."

Some observers accused him of rumor-mongering and a top former military official threw cold water on the story, but with the recent news that the CIA allegedly kept Congress in the dark on a covert program, Hersh's words suddenly look more and more prescient. Yesterday, the New York Times reported the hidden program in question was a death squad authorized by Dick Cheney without Congressional approval—almost exactly what he described.

But there is one major difference between Hersh's reporting and the Times' latest piece—according to Hersh's sources, the program was operational, while the Times cited officials saying that the CIA hit squad never actually carried out a mission. Hersh's comments also differed in that he suggested that the assassination ring was conducted out of the Joint Special Operations Command rather than the CIA.

The Daily Beast tracked down Hersh in South Asia, where he says he has not been able to read the New York Times piece but has received calls buzzing about the report. Asked about the officials quoted in the Times' report who claimed that Cheney's assassination ring never became operational, Hersh offered a skeptical response.