Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has apologized to Senate Intelligence Committee leaders after an internal CIA probe found that agency officials improperly snooped into computers being used by Senate staffers.
In a statement Thursday, CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said an Office of Inspector General report concluded that 'some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between' the Senate and the CIA about computer systems used to produce documents in connection with a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into CIA detention and interrogation practices.
'Director Brennan was briefed on the CIA OIG's findings,' Boyd said. 'The director subsequently informed the SSCI chairman and vice chairman of the findings and apologized to them for such actions by CIA officers as described in the OIG report.'
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the findings vindicated her assertions earlier this year that the actions constituted an improper intrusion by the executive branch into congressional oversight.
"The investigation confirmed what I said on the Senate floor in March -- CIA personnel inappropriately searched Senate Intelligence Committee computers in violation of an agreement we had reached, and I believe in violation of the constitutional separation of powers,' Feinstein said in a statement. 'Director Brennan apologized for these actions and submitted the IG report to an accountability board. These are positive first steps. This IG report corrects the record and it is my understanding that a declassified report will be made available to the public shortly."
No comments:
Post a Comment