Lawmakers and former intel staff members criticizing intelligence agencies could lead to less information being shared with Congress, a Tuesday Associated Press report alleges, despite that the FBI and CIA must meet congressional demands.
The release Friday of a memo authored by California Rep. Devin Nunes, a Republican, detailed a number of apparent Justice Department abuses. Intelligence and law enforcement officials believe the memo’s release could lead to “Spy agencies … sharing less information with Congress, weakening oversight,” reported the AP.
Any federal agency must comply with congressional subpoenas. Ultimately, Congress could simply choose to defund an agency.
Former CIA Director Mike Hayden expressed concern to the AP about the memo. It could “damage congressional oversight and the effectiveness of law enforcement,” the AP reported.
“We are chiseling away at processes and institutions on which we currently depend — and on which we will depend in the future,” said Hayden.
Meanwhile, Republicans, including those who have worked in the CIA like Texas Rep. Will Hurd, said the memo’s release was not meant to be an indictment on any entire agency, but to point out alleged abuses that could infringe on Americans’ civil liberties.
“The memo is about a process and what kinds of information should be used in order to allow the federal government to spy on Americans,” Hurd told the AP. “In my opinion, unverified information, circular reporting and rumors should not be used in an application to spy on American citizens. We should be protecting our civil liberties.”
Robert Litt, a former general counsel for the director of national intelligence said that “the precedent that’s been set” by Republicans “is very dangerous.”
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a once vocal critic of FISA courts and federal surveillance methods, has changed his tune — claiming that the Republicans’ conduct is “going to have a chilling effect on what [the FBI is] willing to share with us.”
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