The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected from Americans, two Democrats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would reveal details about the data, the senators alleged that the CIA had long hidden details about the program from the public and Congress.
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Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico sent a letter to top intelligence officials asking for more details about the program. Large portions of the letter, which was sent in April 2021 and was declassified on Thursday, and the documents released by the CIA were redacted. Wyden and Heinrich said the program operated “outside the institutional framework that Congress and the public believe governs this collection.”
There have long been concerns about what information the intelligence community collects domestically, in part because of past violations of Americans’ civil liberties. The CIA and the National Security Agency are generally prohibited from investigating Americans or American businesses. But the spy agencies’ extensive collection of foreign communications often inadvertently intercepts Americans’ messages and data.
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Intelligence agencies are required to take steps to protect U.S. information, including redacting the names of any Americans from reports unless they are deemed relevant to an investigation. The process of removing redactions is known as “declassification.”.
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The CIA has released a set of revised recommendations about the program issued by an oversight committee known as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. According to the document, a pop-up box warns CIA analysts using the program that searching for any information about U.S. citizens or others covered by privacy laws is illegal.
Source of information: nbcnews.com
