But he struck a largely defensive tone, praising the integrity of the agency’s workforce while conceding that some of its personnel used techniques that “had not been authorized, were abhorrent and rightly should be repudiated by all.” 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 Brennan threaded a needle on the effectiveness of tactics that many view as torture, such as waterboarding. RELATED: CIA feared for future of interrogation program, report shows 
 
 He said detainees who faced "enhanced interrogation techniques" did provide some information that provided useful -- as well as other information that didn't. But he said it is "unknowable" what information could specifically be attributed to those techniques. Asked if torture helped draw out information that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, Brennan demurred, saying only that individuals who were subjected to the techniques “provided information that was useful and was used” in the hunt for the Al Qaeda leader. (Also on POLITICO: John Brennan's zigzag on torture) 
 
 Brennan’s news conference came two days after the release of a Senate Intelligence Committee report blasted the Central Intelligence Agency for abusing detainees and severely mismanaging its interrogation program in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. "There were no easy answers, and whatever your views are on [enhanced interrogation techniques], our nation and in particular this agency did a lot of things right during this difficult time to keep this country strong and secured," Brennan said. “We fell short when it came to holding some officers accountable for their mistakes,” Brennan said. Throughout his remarks, Brennan described his agency’s conduct as enhanced interrogation techniques or EITs, and not as “torture” — the term that Obama has used. He also declined to say whether he supported the release of the Senate summary report on the interrogation techniques, but indicated that he believes too much been revealed. “I think there is more than enough transparency that has happened over the last couple of days,” he said, in what seemed to be an exasperated and heartfelt aside. “I think it’s over the top.” 
 
 At another point, the director made plain his distaste for the events of the past few days. “I certainly wish that this would not be happening.” 
 
 Brennan’s appearance represented the first on-camera response by a current Obama administration official to some of the central claims in the Senate report: namely that the CIA misled Congress, the White House and the public about the program, and that the interrogations were not effective in producing intelligence that saved lives by heading off terrorist plots. "Many aspects of their conclusions are sound and consistent with our own prior findings," Brennan said. He said he had "some visibility" into what was happening, but that he wasn't in the chain of command for that program, and didn't say whether he had made any effort to push for changes at the time. Debate over the interrogation program in the media seems certain to continue at a fairly intense level at least through the Sunday television talk shows, one of which will feature former Vice President Dick Cheney defending the use of techniques like waterboarding and confining suspects in small spaces.
– CIA Director John Brennan offered up a spirited defense of his agency's torture program today, saying that "our nation and, in particular, this agency did a lot of things right during this difficult time to keep this country safe and secured" in the aftermath of 9/11, and that most agents "carried out their responsibilities faithfully," obtained "useful and valuable" information, and "did what they were asked to do in the service of our nation." He acknowledged that techniques were used that "had not been authorized, were abhorrent, and rightly should be repudiated by all," notes Politico, and that "we fell short when it came to holding some officers accountable for their mistakes." Speaking at a rare press conference, Brennan took questions, including one about whether more information would be forthcoming, notes CNN. "I think there's been more than enough transparency that's happened over the last couple days. I think it's over the top," responded the nation's top spy. Brennan bashed the "flawed" report for the "unusual" choice of not talking to CIA agents, but said that ultimately many "conclusions are sound and consistent with our own prior findings." The AP notes that Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office began a lively and real-time Twitter fact-check defending the report's accuracy, using #ReadTheReport. Read one: "Brennan: 'unknowable' if we could have gotten the intel other ways. Study shows it IS knowable: CIA had info before torture. #ReadTheReport"