Pressure is mounting on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when it comes to the debate over torture -- what did she know and when did she know it?

Top Republicans are jumping all over this, calling on the speaker to come clean about all of this -- either apologize or possibly lose her leadership post.

Newt Gingrich says Pelosi has defamed everyone in the intelligence community by claiming that they misled her. And he says he can't see how Pelosi can serve as speaker if it turns out that she lied about national security to Congress and to the whole country.

House Minority Leader John Boehner says if Pelosi is accusing the CIA of lying or misleading Congress, then she should come forward with the evidence so these officials can be prosecuted. If not, Boehner says she should apologize to the intelligence community.

CIA Director Leon Panetta weighed in on all of this last week. He challenged Nancy Pelosi, saying it's not the agency's "...policy or practice to mislead Congress. That's against our laws and our values."

Gingrich suggests Panetta's comments put strong, clear pressure on the House to start a formal investigation of Speaker Pelosi, who is third in line to be president of the United States.

Meanwhile, Pelosi responded to Panetta by shifting her criticism away from the CIA and over to the Bush administration. She also continues to insist she was briefed on interrogation techniques only once and that she was told the techniques of waterboarding and other torture were not being used.

Critics say she was fully briefed twice on waterboarding in 2002 and 2003.

So here's the question: Is it time for Nancy Pelosi to step down as speaker of the House?