Congress is considering a provision that could make top spy agencies like the CIA even less transparent and accountable to the people – and we need your help.
New provisions for consideration in the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) would end Senate confirmation for chief lawyers responsible for secretly shaping policies on surveillance, detention, and interrogation at the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
This Senate vetting process is one of the only opportunities that the American public has to hear from the people behind these decisions and get on-the-record answers and commitments from these officials. Congress must not strip away this rare, important point of transparency from our intelligence community.
This is about more than just protecting good, democratic procedure – this process has historically produced critical details. In one past Senate confirmation hearing, we learned that a nominee for the CIA general counsel personally authorized waterboarding and other forms of torture at CIA black sites. This disqualifying information successfully blocked the nominee’s appointment – but may never have come to light without this process.
We cannot afford to weaken transparency and public oversight of the intelligence community – which is why we’re calling on Congress to reject the provisions that threaten the Senate vetting process.
With thanks for all you do,
Kia Hamadanchy
Pronouns: He, him, his
Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004, USA