Let me begin with the caveat that I am not a fan of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). She spends far more time in bed with America’s rogue agencies (CIA, FBI, NSA) than any Democrat should. That said, I stand in full support of her attempts to bring to light both the crimes committed by the CIA under the Bush Regime, and their subsequent crimes to prevent the Senate Intelligence Committee from fulfilling their proper oversight roll. Here’s the latest.
It was outrageous enough when two successive presidents papered over the Central Intelligence Agency’s history of illegal detention, rendition, torture and fruitless harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects. Now the leader of the Senate intelligence committee, Dianne Feinstein, has provided stark and convincing evidence that the C.I.A. may have committed crimes to prevent the exposure of interrogations that she said were “far different and far more harsh” than anything the agency had described to Congress.
Ms. Feinstein delivered an extraordinary speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday in which she said the C.I.A. improperly searched the computers used by committee staff members who were investigating the interrogation program as recently as January.
Beyond the power of her office and long experience, Ms. Feinstein’s accusations carry an additional weight and credibility because she has been a reliable supporter of the intelligence agencies and their expanded powers since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 (sometimes too reliable)… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NY Times>
I strongly recommend clicking through for the rest of this excellent article.
Here’s an excerpt from Dianne Feinstein’s address on the Senate floor.
I find her statement fully credible. Given her normal conservative bent on national security issues, there is no basis at all to believe she is lying.
Rachel Maddow provided additional detail and explained the background in most excellent fashion.
Major kudos to Rachel Maddow!
The CIA’s complaint is that Intelligence Committee staffers removed the Panetta Report from the computers provided them to a secure safe in the Hart Office Building. Technically, they may be correct, because that did violate the agreement between the Committee and the CIA. However, the CIA had already violated that agreement in two ways. First they had been spying on the use of the computers provided the Committee for their “exclusive use”. Second, they had removed documents from those computers to prevent their use as evidence. When Committee staffers discovered that the CIA was removing documents, they took the steps necessary to protect what they considered the most important document by removing it to the same secure location they would have used to review the documents, were it not for the special arrangements made for this investigation. To me it seems that the purpose the CIA had in having the documents reviewed at the non-standard location, which they controlled, was to surreptitiously prevent the overseers from doing their job. Therefore I find the removal of the of the Panetta Report to be fully justified, under the circumstances.
I am gratified to learn that Feinstein intends to declassify and release the summary and conclusions of the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of the torture perpetrated by the Bush Regime until Obama discontinued it, when he took office. I am equally gratified to learn that Obama supports this as well. While I have a pretty good idea what it will contain, releasing this information is long past due.
8 Responses to “Follow Up on CIA Crimes”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I can't believe that with all the CIA's broken promises and illegal behavior, that the Committee thought that the CIA wouldn't go after them with the more unpleasantness – if you let a bully run riot, things escalate nastily.
Mind you, picking on Senator Feinstein will I think prove to be an own goal for the CIA – much though I disagree with Senator Feinstein about her desire to listen to all our conversations as though law abiding decent citizens were criminals, she must make a bad enemy, and it is rather foolish of the CIA to go after her staff – her 'family', if you like, she would naturally protect them.
In this case 'all power to her elbow' – I hope she reins in this agency and all the others – and realises that they have gone too far – this has been Bush-era spying gone mad, which we would never have expected from Democrats!
I applaud Diane Feinstein for her actions. She has been an advocate for the CIA, NSA and the like and they should have known better than to "bite the hand that feeds them". Like I said yesterday, they were not doing their job properly overseas. What made them think they would be okay when they started spying on their oversight committee in the Senate? A complete overhaul of their leadership needs to be done.
While it is immoral to the point of incestuous for the CIA to investigate anyone who is investigating them (Think being accused of a crime and therefore hacking the police and district attorney computers), let's not lose sight of the fact that the regulations governing the three agencies make it out of bounds (illegal) for the CIA to investigate anyone at all in the Senate. That is the job of the FBI.
I am not a big fan of DiFi either but let us hope this makes a believer out of her.
My plan would be: Release all whistle blowers and people with drug use convictions from all Federal prisons immediately. (Start with John Kiriakou.) Then lock up the ENTIRE CIA. Like that would ever happen, I know.
NY Times: I am glad Sen. Feinstein is finally speaking up. Would she have if the CIA had not hacked Senate computers? I doubt it. Many of us were protesting the brutality of the interrogations by the CIA under Bush, and also Obama. We were ignored.
Good for Rachel. She doesn't care who she angers. The CIA has operated with impunity for too long. They are a disgrace to our country.
"… Mr. Obama’s decision when he took office to conduct no investigation of them. We can only hope he knows that when he has lost Dianne Feinstein, he has no choice but to act in favor of disclosure and accountability."
I hope that disclosure and the seeking of accountability will include accountability from Baby Bush, Cheney, Rice, Wolfowitz etc who ordered torture and the like. And that accountability must include prosecution and prison time.
I also hope that the CIA is held accountable for their actions to obstruct the actions of their oversight body. They are definitely a rogue agency that needs to be reined in.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. is the Senate Intelligence Committee Chair.
Yes, Diane is in bed with "America’s rogue agencies (CIA, FBI, NSA) than any Democrat should." It is one of her jobs. lol.
This recent issue stems from the investigation into allegations of CIA abuse in a Bush-era detention and interrogation program.
This case has been referred to the Justice Department.
Additional note:
Both Bush & Cheney are wanted in several countries around the world for war crimes.
Very Distressing…