By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

CIA Director Leon Panetta today needs to clear up whether he or his agency have lied to Congress in recent years.

The CIA's credibility is on the line, especially as Congress debates a new bill dealing with intelligence gathering.

Panetta is on the hot seat because of the fight he essentially picked with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this year over her own veracity.

Pelosi had accused the CIA of lying when it indicated she had been told of harsh interrogation techniques earlier this decade. That CIA revelation made it appear Pelosi had been two-faced when she didn't do enough to halt waterboarding of alleged terrorists -- especially if she knew America's agents were utilizing that interrogation method.

But on Wednesday, some Democratic congressional members said Panetta had admitted in a closed session in June that the CIA had repeatedly misled Congress.

Panetta hasn't commented on those charges, but he needs to do so and quickly.

These are serious accusations, made by Democrats who obviously want to help Pelosi look more credible to the American people. After all, if it can be established that the CIA lied to her, then she may not have been fibbing when she claimed she had not been told about waterboarding.

Republicans are naturally calling the latest accusation about the CIA a political stunt. They say the Democrats are throwing up a smokescreen to protect Pelosi as Congress debates the new intelligence legislation.

Panetta needs to speak out soon about whether he said what the Democrats now claim he did -- and whether the CIA repeatedly lied to Congress under the Bush administration.