More Congressional Oversight Over The U.S. Intelligence Community

Congress Wins Expanded Oversight of Intelligence Community -- The Atlantic

After months of tough negotiations with the White House, members of Congress who monitor intelligence agencies believe they've won meaningful new oversight powers via a bill the President has promised to sign.

Among these new powers: agency directors will have to certify, under penalty of law, that they've disclosed to Congress everything that must be disclosed; criteria will be expanded for the types of covert operation planning that Congress must be briefed on; and the White House will even have to retain (for the sake of public records to be disclosed in the future) a written record of every briefing it provides to the intelligence communities and a list of attendees.

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My Comment: In short, what all this means is more paper work.

Released Documents Revealed That Congress Was Briefed On The Interrogation Program

CIA Briefed 68 Lawmakers On Interrogation Program -- Yahoo News/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – CIA officials briefed at least 68 U.S. lawmakers between 2001 and 2007 on enhanced interrogation methods like simulated drowning that were being considered or used against captured al Qaeda members, according to declassified documents released on Tuesday.

The once-secret CIA papers, obtained in a lawsuit by the conservative legal foundation Judicial Watch, shed new light on which lawmakers knew the details of the controversial interrogation program and when.

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My Comment: Kudos to Judicial Watch for having these documents released. But I expect Congress to be silent on its contents.

Is Congress Being Blocked From Receiving Intelligence On The Fort Hood Shooter

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Rep. Hoekstra Getting "No Cooperation" for Fort Hood Probe -- CBS News

The top ranking Republican in the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said Tuesday the FBI and CIA have given him "no cooperation at all" in his request for information on what the intelligence agencies knew about Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.

"Finally they held a briefing last night for some of the senators and some of my staff, but again, the House is not in session, I've not been able to get the information at this point," he said on Tuesday's "Washington Unplugged." "I don't think they've been as cooperative as what the law requires them to be with Congress."

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More News On Congress And The Intelligence Community On the Fort Hood Shooting

Information being withheld about Fort Hood shooter -- Examiner
Hoekstra: White House Blocking Investigation of Fort Hood Massacre -- Newsmax
Sparring within House intelligence panel over Fort Hood grows sharper -- Washington Post
Intelligence Officials Deny Sitting on Information About Fort Hood Shooting Suspect -- FOX News
CIA Denies Report of Blocking Hasan Intel -- CBS