Burgess Everett and Manu Raju report at Politico that Senator Dianne Feinstein set off a political firestorm when she took to the Senate floor to
accuse CIA officials of potentially violating the Constitution in conducting an unauthorized search of her committee's computers to turn up documents related to a congressional investigation into Bush-era detention and interrogation programs. Feinstein, who spoke to President Barack Obama about her concerns, said her panel will vote to declassify the report into the interrogation practices sometime this month, something that could embarrass the intelligence community. "We're not going to stop," says Feinstein. "If the Senate can declassify this report, we will be able to ensure that an un-American, brutal program of detention and interrogation will never again be considered or permitted."
CIA Director John Brennan forcefully pushed back against Feinstein's allegations, prompting senators to begin calling for a larger investigation into the matter. "Heads will roll," said Republican Lindsey Graham if an investigation confirms Feinstein's allegations. "If what they're saying is true about the CIA, this is Richard Nixon stuff. This is dangerous to a democracy, heads should roll,
people should go to jail, if it's true ."
Burgess Everett and Manu Raju report at Politico that Senator Dianne Feinstein set off a political firestorm when she took to the Senate floor to
accuse CIA officials of potentially violating the Constitution in conducting an unauthorized search of her committee's computers to turn up documents related to a congressional investigation into
Bush-era detention and interrogation programs.
Feinstein, who spoke to President Barack Obama about her concerns, said her panel will vote to declassify the report into the interrogation practices sometime this month, something that could embarrass the intelligence community. "We're not going to stop," says Feinstein. "If the Senate can declassify this report, we will be able to ensure that an un-American, brutal program of detention and interrogation will never again be considered or permitted."
CIA Director John Brennan forcefully pushed back against Feinstein's allegations, prompting senators to begin calling for a larger investigation into the matter.
John McCain called the situation "very disturbing.""Heads will roll,"
said Republican Lindsey Graham
said if an investigation confirms Feinstein's allegations. "If what they're saying is true about the CIA, this is Richard Nixon stuff. This is dangerous to a democracy, heads should roll,
people should go to jail, if it's true
," Graham said. "The legislative branch should declare war on the CIA - if it's true."Is Senator Feinstein's outrage justified, or is she a a hypocrite as Snowden charges? ."