from TheHill.com
The CIA’s admission that it broke into Senate computers and spied on Intelligence Committee staffers has created a firestorm for the spy agency, with some calling for change at the top.
The scandal has stirred fresh doubts about Director John Brennan’s ability to lead the CIA and could make it difficult for the agency to push back on the findings of a Senate report on Bush-era “enhanced interrogation” techniques that might be released this month.
“This is going to feed into the Hollywood narrative about a wicked CIA,” said Jim Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The agency’s admission this week that officials hacked into Senate staffers’ computers comes after months of controversy about the surveillance activities exposed by Edward Snowden.
Though the CIA’s hacking is unrelated to the activities of the National Security Agency (NSA), the snooping on Congress could add to the perception that America’s spy agencies are out of control.
“Folks are sick and tired of intelligence agencies running amok, and this only makes things worse,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said in a statement on Friday. “These actions cannot stand, and I will keep working with my colleagues to make sure that the intelligence community starts respecting civil liberties.”
The CIA’s inspector general said five officials — two lawyers and three information technology staffers — hacked into Senate Intelligence staffers’ drives and emails, but also said the three IT staffers “demonstrated a lack of candor about their activities” in interviews.
