The Central Intelligence Agency has ruled that large portions of a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee that is highly critical of the agency includes material too sensitive to be released to the public, Congressional and intelligence officials said Tuesday.
Between 30 and 40 percent of the material in a 400-page report was deleted by the C.I.A. in a version that was returned to the committee on Monday as approved for public release, the officials said.
NY Times article
Between 30 and 40 percent of the material in a 400-page report was deleted by the C.I.A. in a version that was returned to the committee on Monday as approved for public release, the officials said.
Just like religion. Trust us. You're on a need to know basis.
Congressional officials said members of the committee were disappointed by the C.I.A. action, and were considering various options, including an appeal to the agency and the White House to reconsider the decision.
Sure! That'll work.
Other options would be to release the heavily edited report, to rewrite the documents around the deletions, or to seek approval of the full Senate to make public the classified portions of the document despite the agency's objections.
By law, the C.I.A. and ultimately the White House have the authority to decide what information is classified, giving them significant power over how much of the Senate report can be made public.
By law, the C.I.A. and ultimately the White House have the authority to decide what information is classified, giving them significant power over how much of the Senate report can be made public.
And we may need to change some laws. Or maybe just enforce the ones we had, back before we became a kingdom.
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the committee, said Tuesday that he believed the C.I.A. had "overclassified much of the report to the extent that it will prevent the American public from knowing the truth about how the intelligence community performed leading up to the war."
"Those of us that serve on the Intelligence Committee understand very well the nature of classified information and the importance of protecting sensitive information," he said. "The committee has a number of options for how we want to proceed, and we're currently discussing next steps."
In an interview last week, Senator Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican who is the panel's chairman, said: "I feel very strongly that the great majority of this report should be made public. Our report is a good one. It's right, and the American people certainly deserve to see it."
"Those of us that serve on the Intelligence Committee understand very well the nature of classified information and the importance of protecting sensitive information," he said. "The committee has a number of options for how we want to proceed, and we're currently discussing next steps."
In an interview last week, Senator Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican who is the panel's chairman, said: "I feel very strongly that the great majority of this report should be made public. Our report is a good one. It's right, and the American people certainly deserve to see it."
I'll give you odds that more of that report will be declassified, but the process will drag out over a long period of time.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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