◼ Dianne Feinstein: CIA spied on Senate Intelligence Committee - Washington Examiner
◼ Feinstein: CIA searched Intelligence Committee computers - Washington Post
...The comments by Feinstein, traditionally a strong advocate for the intelligence community, blew wide open a dispute that has simmered behind closed doors in recent weeks.
◼ WAR: Senate accuses CIA of seaching computer network established for Congress
◼ FEINSTEIN: 'Defining moment' - CNBC
The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that the CIA searched the panel's computers and that the search may have violated the Constitution.
"The CIA just went and searched the committee's computers," California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a lengthy speech on the Senate floor, calling the the matter a "defining moment" for the oversight of the Intelligence Committee.
◼ Snowden slams hypocrisy - Paul Lewis in Washington/The Guardian
NSA whistleblower accuses Dianne Feinstein of double standards, pointing out her lack of concern about widespread surveillance of ordinary citizens...
In a statement to NBC News, Snowden said: “It’s clear the CIA was trying to play ‘keep away’ with documents relevant to an investigation by their overseers in Congress, and that’s a serious constitutional concern.”
Snowden, who is in Russia on temporary asylum, added: “But it’s equally if not more concerning that we’re seeing another ‘Merkel effect,’ where an elected official does not care at all that the rights of millions of ordinary citizens are violated by our spies, but suddenly it’s a scandal when a politician finds out the same thing happens to them.”
◼ Director Denies - ABC
◼ FOURNIER: Spying and Lying - Ron Fournier/National Journal
What Else Can the Obama Administration Do to Undermine U.S. Security?After the administration spied on Americans and lied to Congress, Feinstein's bombshell now raises even more questions about its activities.
They spied on you. They lied to the Senate. They seized telephone records from the Associated Press and considered criminalizing investigative journalism at Fox News. What else can the U.S. intelligence community do to destroy its credibility, curb civil liberties, and ultimately undermine U.S. security?
Spy on Congress.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat bravely challenging a Democratic White House, accused the CIA of searching computer files used by her staffers on the Senate Intelligence Committee to review the CIA's now-defunct interrogation programs, potentially violating:
The constitutionally sacred principle of separation of powers, which prohibits one branch of government (say, a runaway executive branch) from strong-arming the other two branches.
The Fourth Amendment, which protects from unreasonable search and seizure.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Executive Order 12333, which bar domestic surveillance.
Feinstein said the CIA "may have undermined the constitutional framework essential to effective congressional oversight of intelligence activities or any other government function."
