washingtontimes | “The CIA unconstitutionally spied on Congress by hacking into Senate
intelligence committee computers. This grave misconduct not only is
illegal, but it violates the U.S. Constitution’s requirement of
separation of powers,” said Mr. Udall, a member of the committee. “These
offenses, along with other errors in judgment by some at the CIA,
demonstrate a tremendous failure of leadership, and there must be
consequences.”
The internal CIA audit was conducted by the
agency’s inspector general. It remains classified, but agency spokesman
Dean Boyd said it showed that employees “acted in a manner inconsistent
with the common understanding” of how documents were to be treated.
Mr. Boyd said Mr. Brennan has formed an accountability board to look into the findings and that employees could be disciplined.
The
showdown stemmed from a yearslong Senate investigation into harsh
interrogation techniques used in the years after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. A key document known as the Panetta review, named after former
CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, laid out a number of concerns including
whether the interrogations were producing valuable information.
CIA
officials accused Senate staffers of stealing the Panetta review, and
Mr. Brennan’s top legal aide made an official referral asking the
Justice Department to pursue a criminal case against staffers. Senators
countered by starting their own investigation, demanding Mr. Brennan’s
cooperation, and taking their own complaint to the Justice Department.
The
CIA said Thursday that the Justice Department review has concluded
without any finding on either side. The Senate is continuing its
investigation.
