CIA Gathered Congressional Communications on Whistleblowing; After 4 Years of Pressing, Grassley Gets Notifications Declassified
WASHINGTON
– Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley pressed for more than four years to
declassify two Congressional Notifications indicating that, during the Obama
administration, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) obtained congressional
communications about pending and developing whistleblower complaints. Those two
notifications were finally declassified this week.
In
response to Grassley’s most recent letter on this issue, Intelligence Community
Inspector
General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson wrote Grassley and provided the two,
declassified notifications within two weeks.
“The fact that the CIA under the Obama
administration was reading Congressional staff’s emails about intelligence
community whistleblowers raises serious policy concerns as well as potential
Constitutional separation-of-powers issues that must be discussed publicly. I
have been asking the same question for years: what sources or methods would be
jeopardized by the declassification of these notifications? After four and a
half years of bureaucratic foot-dragging, led by Directors Brennan and Clapper,
we finally have the answer: none. The CIA has a vitally important function,
especially when it comes to their critical counterintelligence work, but
nothing—nothing—should inhibit or interfere with Congress’
constitutional job and protecting whistleblowers,” Grassley said. “To assign
credit where credit is due, Inspector General Atkinson and his office were
responsive and engaging on something that appeared intractable if small. I
thank him for his work. Since the inception of this country, blowing the
whistle has played an integral role in maintaining good government. It would be
unacceptable and unpatriotic to overlook any action that could dissuade
responsible citizens from disclosing waste, fraud and abuse in our government.”
Each
of the two notifications relate to communications between the ICIG Director of
Whistleblowing & Source Protection and congressional staff obtained by the
CIA in the course of counterintelligence monitoring. The notifications also
make note of a report provided to CIA officials about the communications. That
report was provided to offices of some who were subjects of the pending
whistleblower complaints. While counterintelligence monitoring is an important
tool to catch spies and insider threats, when it touches on lawful
Congressional communications about intelligence community whistleblowers, it
raises serious concerns.
The
notifications can be found here:
On
April 14, 2014, Grassley wrote to CIA Director John Brennan and Director of
National Intelligence James Clapper seeking their declassification. Then on
April 5, 2017, in the hope that the new Trump administration might be more
responsive than the Obama administration, Grassley
followed up with a letter to the CIA Director, Director of National
Intelligence, CIA Inspector General and the Intelligence Community Inspector
General. Grassley did not receive a response to either of those letters in
writing nor in any other communication between Grassley’s office and the
relevant agencies.
On
October 15, 2018, Grassley wrote to the ICIG again pressing for
declassification and release. The ICIG responded on October 29.
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