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The Senate and the CIA at War
The Senate and the CIA at War
Even Sen. Dianne Feinstein has lost faith in America’s intelligence community.
By John Dickerson
<...>
The saga starts in 2006, when members of the intelligence committee were first briefed about a CIA interrogation program that had been in place since 2002. This briefing initiated an investigation by Senate staffers who by 2009 offered a preliminary report on the program that Feinstein described as “chilling” and far different and harsher than the way the CIA had described it in the past.
The first level of oversight had failed massively. The findings from the first review initiated another one by the committee—a second attempt at oversight—which the CIA fought at every turn, according to Feinstein. They dumped an un-indexed 6.2 million documents on the Senate committee and requested that each document go through a multilevel review process before handing it over, making the investigation tedious and protracted.
As investigators waded though the documents, some of the information that had been initially provided by the CIA started to disappear from the computer network. When asked about the unauthorized removal, the CIA blamed contractors, and then said the order had come from the White House. In 2010, Feinstein had to get the White House counsel to resolve the matter and order the CIA to return the missing documents, which it did.
Not long after, documents started going missing again. This batch of ghost papers would come to be known as the “Panetta review,” referring to Leon Panetta, the former CIA director. They represented an internal summary of what had been provided to the intelligence committee. “What was unique and interesting about the internal documents was not their classification level, but rather their analysis and acknowledgment of significant CIA wrongdoing,” said Feinstein.
- more -
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/03/dianne_feinstein_the_cia_and_cover_up_the_california_senator_accuses_the.single.html
Even Sen. Dianne Feinstein has lost faith in America’s intelligence community.
By John Dickerson
<...>
The saga starts in 2006, when members of the intelligence committee were first briefed about a CIA interrogation program that had been in place since 2002. This briefing initiated an investigation by Senate staffers who by 2009 offered a preliminary report on the program that Feinstein described as “chilling” and far different and harsher than the way the CIA had described it in the past.
The first level of oversight had failed massively. The findings from the first review initiated another one by the committee—a second attempt at oversight—which the CIA fought at every turn, according to Feinstein. They dumped an un-indexed 6.2 million documents on the Senate committee and requested that each document go through a multilevel review process before handing it over, making the investigation tedious and protracted.
As investigators waded though the documents, some of the information that had been initially provided by the CIA started to disappear from the computer network. When asked about the unauthorized removal, the CIA blamed contractors, and then said the order had come from the White House. In 2010, Feinstein had to get the White House counsel to resolve the matter and order the CIA to return the missing documents, which it did.
Not long after, documents started going missing again. This batch of ghost papers would come to be known as the “Panetta review,” referring to Leon Panetta, the former CIA director. They represented an internal summary of what had been provided to the intelligence committee. “What was unique and interesting about the internal documents was not their classification level, but rather their analysis and acknowledgment of significant CIA wrongdoing,” said Feinstein.
- more -
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/03/dianne_feinstein_the_cia_and_cover_up_the_california_senator_accuses_the.single.html
Senators rally around Feinstein, demand answers from CIA
By Wesley Lowery and Ed O'Keefe
<...>
Democrats, including some on the committee who frequently raise concerns with intelligence matters, praised Feinstein for speaking out. During their weekly caucus luncheon, she received two standing ovations. First, when Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) mentioned her speech and again when she urged her colleagues to read her remarks, according to a senior aide familiar with the meeting but not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the chamber's longest-serving Democrat, told reporters that "in 40 years here, it was one of the best speeches I’d ever heard and one of the most important."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that her speech "goes precisely to the question of whether the Congress can do effective oversight over the modern intelligence apparatus." He noted that at the recent annual public hearing on worldwide threats, he asked whether federal laws barring snooping on computers applied to the CIA. He said that the agency has replied in writing that such laws do apply to agency officials.
Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), another outspoken member of the panel, said Feinstein's concerns bolster his own attempts to get answers about the CIA's interrogation program. "Unfortunately, the CIA responded by trying to hide the truth from the American people about this program and undermine the Senate Intelligence Committee's oversight role by illegally searching committee computers," he said in a statement. "The U.S. Constitution is clear and Coloradans agree: The separation of powers and aggressive oversight are fundamental to our democracy, and Coloradans can count on me to continue to protect these foundational pillars no matter who is in the White House."
- more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/11/senators-rally-around-feinstein-demand-answers-from-cia/?tid=hpModule_f8335a3c-868c-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394
By Wesley Lowery and Ed O'Keefe
<...>
Democrats, including some on the committee who frequently raise concerns with intelligence matters, praised Feinstein for speaking out. During their weekly caucus luncheon, she received two standing ovations. First, when Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) mentioned her speech and again when she urged her colleagues to read her remarks, according to a senior aide familiar with the meeting but not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the chamber's longest-serving Democrat, told reporters that "in 40 years here, it was one of the best speeches I’d ever heard and one of the most important."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that her speech "goes precisely to the question of whether the Congress can do effective oversight over the modern intelligence apparatus." He noted that at the recent annual public hearing on worldwide threats, he asked whether federal laws barring snooping on computers applied to the CIA. He said that the agency has replied in writing that such laws do apply to agency officials.
Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), another outspoken member of the panel, said Feinstein's concerns bolster his own attempts to get answers about the CIA's interrogation program. "Unfortunately, the CIA responded by trying to hide the truth from the American people about this program and undermine the Senate Intelligence Committee's oversight role by illegally searching committee computers," he said in a statement. "The U.S. Constitution is clear and Coloradans agree: The separation of powers and aggressive oversight are fundamental to our democracy, and Coloradans can count on me to continue to protect these foundational pillars no matter who is in the White House."
- more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/11/senators-rally-around-feinstein-demand-answers-from-cia/?tid=hpModule_f8335a3c-868c-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394
ACLU: Sen. Feinstein Accuses CIA of Attempting to Undermine Torture Investigation
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024647827
16 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
...so what the hell did they expect? Now lie in it, Dianne. It's all yours. 
- So one definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result, right? Well we've done this before too:
Nice idea, but it's...
