CIA Stands accused of spying on Senate

[frigidmagi]

NBC

The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that the CIA searched the panel's computers and that the search may have violated the Constitution.

"The CIA just went and searched the committee's computers," California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a lengthy speech on the Senate floor, calling the the matter a "defining moment" for the oversight of the Intelligence Committee.

"I have grave concerns that the CIA’s search may well have violated the separation of powers principles embodied by the United States Constitution, including the speech and debate clause,” she said. "It may have undermined the Constitutional framework essential to effective congressional oversight of intelligence activity or any other government function."

Feinstein added that the search may also have violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and an executive order that prohibits the CIA from conducting domestic searches or surveillance.

She said she has asked for an apology and an acknowledgment that the CIA's actions were wrong but that "I have received neither."

The inspector general of the CIA has turned the matter over to the Justice Department for investigation, Feinstein said.

The search came as the Intelligence Committee attempted to investigate the CIA's detention and interrogation practices that took place when current CIA Director John Brennan directed the program.

Feinstein says the committee obtained the review from the CIA because it was provided to them as part of a searchable database of documents. The CIA has alleged that the committee may have obtained that document illegally.

The California senator said she made the public accusations "reluctantly" but felt she must speak up amid "inaccurate" information about her panel and the intelligence community.

"Since January 15th, 2014, when I was informed of the CIA search of this committee’s network, I’ve been trying to resolve this dispute in a discreet and respectful way," she said. "I have not commented in response to media requests for additional information on this matter, however the increasing amount of inaccurate information circulating now cannot be allowed to stand unanswered."

More to come.

[rhoenix]

Update from ArsTechnica.com:

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said today that the CIA has illegally monitored and searched computers that belong to her committee.

The computers were on a closed network created to investigate claims of CIA abuse related to detention and interrogation programs that began in 2002. Feinstein explained her concerns in a 38-minute speech this morning on the Senate floor. "I have grave concerns that the CIA's search may well have violated the separation of powers principles embodied in the United States Constitution," she said.

Feinstein said the CIA's actions may have violated the Fourth Amendment, which bars “unreasonable searches and seizures,” as well as other federal laws, along with an executive order that prevents the CIA from engaging in domestic surveillance and searches.

Congressional oversight of intelligence agencies, or lack thereof, has been under increased attention since press reports began to appear about leaked National Security Agency documents last summer. In debates about those leaks, Feinstein has emerged as a staunch defender of intelligence agencies.

"I come to the Senate floor reluctantly," said Feinstein. She was alerted of the searches in mid-January and tried to resolve the issue "in a discreet and respectful way," not commenting in response to media requests. But inaccurate information has been published, said Feinstein. "I rise today to set the record straight and to provide a full accounting of the facts and history," she said.

The full text of Feinstein's remarks this morning have been published in The Guardian.

In response, CIA Director John Brennan denied accusations that the CIA took actions to thwart intelligence investigations, explaining, “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Brennan said he would defer to Department of Justice investigators, who are looking into “the possibility of a criminal violation by CIA personnel.” Brennan has further suggested that media coverage of these types of events is harmful to the intelligence community and often distorts intelligence views and activities.

Yeesh.

[B4UTRUST]

Wait, correct me if I'm wrong here but, isn't this the same Feinstein that is perfectly okay with the NSA monitoring our entire lives? And now she's butthurt because she thinks there may be evidence that someone did it to her? I'm not sure whether I should be laughing my ass off at her, beating my head against a desk or sending my fuckometer out for calibration, because it says I apparently give zero fucks about anything Feinstein is having a hissy over.

[rhoenix]

Wait, correct me if I'm wrong here but, isn't this the same Feinstein that is perfectly okay with the NSA monitoring our entire lives?

Yes.

It's hard to not make "For me, but not for thee" comparisons.

And now she's butthurt because she thinks there may be evidence that someone did it to her? I'm not sure whether I should be laughing my ass off at her, beating my head against a desk or sending my fuckometer out for calibration, because it says I apparently give zero fucks about anything Feinstein is having a hissy over.

It shows the level of myopia she operates under, but the fact that what happened shook her tree a little bit might end up being a good thing.

We'll see.

[Cynical Cat]

The wealthy and the political elite have always lived under a different set of rules than the rest of us. Keeping those fuckers accountable is one of the challenges of modern civilization. It's also why its a bad idea for the CIA to piss off the committee that has the power to throw it under the bus.

[Josh]

I apparently give zero fucks about anything Feinstein is having a hissy over.

This is a good policy in general. She's nakedly dishonest and delusional.