(CNN) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said former Vice President Dick Cheney "set a tone and attitude for the CIA" that allowed for the controversial techniques used by the agency in the Bush-era detention and interrogation program.
Her comments follow a Senate Intelligence Committee vote last week to release key parts of a report that concludes the CIA misled the government and public about aspects of the agency’s practices in the post-9/11 program.
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The California Democrat told CNN's Candy Crowley in an interview that aired Sunday on "State of the Union" that Cheney, who served under George W. Bush, is "proud" of what the CIA did during the Republican administration.
"I do believe that during the Bush-Cheney administration, that Vice President Cheney set a tone and an attitude for the CIA. Many people in the CIA are so patriotic, they protect our country in a way to avoid conflict and violence," she said.
"But the attitude that was there was very - I think it came from Dick Cheney. That's what I believe."
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the committee, called the report's findings "shocking," saying it "exposes brutality that stands in stark contrast to our values as a nation."
Critics of the CIA program say the interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, violate laws prohibiting torture. Those defending the CIA’s conduct at that time insist the techniques produced valuable intelligence in the fight against terrorism.
The White House will make the final decision on declassifying the report.
House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers said Pelosi's comments politicize the issue. He also questioned the timing of the report's possible release.
"I have some real misgivings about this report," Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said in a separate appearance on CNN's "State of the Union." "You can't not interview one person in the program and come to the conclusion they did."
"We need to move forward," Rogers said, adding that CIA intelligence efforts should be focused elsewhere as the United States faces threats from around the world.
The Senate committee voted overwhelming for the declassification of the report. Two Republicans who voted against the declassification, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Jim Risch of Idaho, said the report was partisan and that its release would not end the debate over the program.
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democrat and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said CIA practices involving torture are “not who we are as a country.”
“The most important thing that we need to look at, the past, the history, and make sure we don't make the same mistakes in the future. That's what we're really doing here,” he said, appearing with Rogers on CNN. “Let's get the facts, then we can make decisions.”
CNN's Evan Perez contributed to this report.