Senate Intelligence Committee Clashes With CIA Over Interrogations Report

CIA Chief Doesn't Want to Discuss Report in Open Hearings

The 6,300-page Senate report on CIA “enhanced interrogations” remains officially classified, but that hasn’t stopped CIA officials from repeatedly and loudly condemning the report publicly, insisting it is filled with unspecified errors.

There seems to be only one way to get the CIA to shut up about that report, and that’s to ask them about it in a Congressional hearing, which is what Senate Intelligence Committee officials tried to do today, pushing for more details about CIA conduct.

CIA Chief John Brennan would only say he “disagrees” in general terms with what the Senators are saying, and that he believes the conversation shouldn’t take place during public hearings.

Committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D – CA), ever a close friend to intelligence officials looking to cover things up, concurred, and repeatedly interrupted other committee members’ questions to say that they should save them for a future “closed door” hearing that may or may not ever happen.

The Senate report was said to be intensely critical of the CIA’s conduct in the interrogations/torture of detainees, and there is another CIA internal review group report that is also said to be quite critical of the policies, though it is likewise secret and being kept from Congress as well as the public.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.