But in testimony yesterday before the House Armed Services Committee, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz publicly chastised the network for the bogus claim.

"I'd like to clarify at least one thing that's been seriously misreported for almost the last 24 hours by CNN claiming that Secretary Rumsfeld authorized some kind of extreme interrogation method in Guantanamo," said Wolfowitz, in quotes picked up the Washington Post.

"I was in discussions with Secretary Rumsfeld where he specifically ruled out the use of that kind of technique," he insisted.

After double-checking, the No. 2 cable network posted a mea culpa on its Web site, saying the misreport was the result of "an honest misunderstanding."

"Let's just say that we had another discussion today in which it was clear that the understanding that we had yesterday was not the same understanding we had today," CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre explained.

Editor's note: