WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The CIA withheld  information from Congress about a secret counterterrorism  program on orders from former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney,  a U.S. senator said yesterday amid calls for an investigation.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein told “Fox News Sunday”  that CIA Director Leon Panetta disclosed Cheney’s involvement  when he briefed members of Congress two weeks ago. She said  Panetta told them he had cancelled the programme.

President Barack Obama appointed Panetta to head the agency  early this year. The still-secret programme, which The New York  Times said never became operational, began after the Sept. 11  attacks on the United States.

News of Cheney’s involvement, reported by the Times yesterday, prompted an outpouring of criticism by Obama’s fellow  Democrats and support by rival Republicans in Congress.

Feinstein, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee,  said: “Director Panetta did brief us two weeks ago — I believe  it was on the 24th of June … and, as had been reported, did  tell us that he was told that the vice president had ordered  that the programme not be briefed to the Congress.”

Asked if the matter should be investigated, Senate Majority  Whip Dick Durbin said, “Absolutely.”

“The executive branch of government cannot create programmes  like these programmes and keep Congress in the dark. There is a  requirement for disclosure,” said Durbin said on ABC’s “This  Week.”

“It has to be done in an appropriate way so it doesn’t  jeopardize our national security, but to have a massive program  that is concealed from the leaders in Congress is not only  inappropriate; it could be illegal,” he said.

Feinstein and Democrat Patrick Leahy, chairman of the  Senate Judiciary Committee, insisted no one should go outside  the law.

Asked about Cheney’s involvement, Leahy told CBS’s “Face  the Nation”: “I’d like to know if it’s true or not.  I mean,  nobody in this country is above the law … You can’t have  somebody say, well, if you’re vice president, you don’t have to  obey the law.”

Feinstein said Congress “should have been told” about the  secret problem and that the vice president shouldn’t be above  the law.

This is a big problem, because the law is very clear.  And  I understand the need of the day, which was when America was in  shock” after Sept. 11, she said on Fox. “But … I think you  weaken your case when you go outside of the law.”

Cheney was a key advocate in the Bush administration of  using controversial interrogation methods such as waterboarding  on terrorism suspects and has emerged as a leading Republican  critic of Obama’s national security policies.

Since Obama took over from President George W. Bush on Jan.  20, Cheney has engaged in an increasingly contentious battle  with the new administration over the CIA interrogation  procedures that undermined the United States’ reputation around  the world.

In one of his first acts as president, Obama ordered more  humane treatment for terrorism suspects.

Panetta has vowed not to allow coercive interrogation  practices, secret prisons or the transfer of terrorist suspects  to countries that may use torture, a pledge seen as a break  with the agency’s policies under Bush.

Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on  the Judiciary Committee, told “Face the Nation” he said he  believed the Cheney allegations will be investigated.

Asked if he expected the situation to be looked into,  Sessions said, “Well, I’m sure it will be.”

“I don’t know what the facts are. But I believe that Vice  President Cheney served his country with as much fidelity as he  could possibly give to it. And he tried to serve us in an  effective way. And I hope that nothing like this would impact  on his outstanding record.”