The CIA is punking the Senate. Here's how the Senate can fight back.
On the question of torture in the Bush era, it's time for Dianne Feinstein to show some leadership
The CIA's monthslong battle with the Senate has reached a new impasse, this time over the release of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, or SSCI, report on the CIA's torture of terrorism suspects during the Bush years. In about the most blatant conflict of interest imaginable, the CIA was allowed to redact the report about its own war crimes — and to precisely no one's surprise, the spy agency blacked it out into gibberish.
In a statement, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said "strategically placed redactions can make a narrative incomprehensible," and that redactions should not be made merely to "cover up acts that could embarrass the agency." Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the committee chair, delayed the release of the report, saying it can't be made public in its current, incomprehensible form.
Though Feinstein made the right decision here, she has consistently underestimated her opponent throughout this standoff. The CIA is clearly not operating in good faith, which was made abundantly clear when Director John Bennan admitted last week that the agency had spied on Senate staffers compiling the report. (It cannot be overstated how egregiously illegal this is.) President Obama, caught in the middle, isn't exactly cracking down on the agency's effort to escape as much accountability as possible.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Senate is in a fight with a bunch of dishonest swindlers. Therefore, Feinstein shouldn't hesitate to use every tool at her disposal. It's time to pull a Mike Gravel and read the report into the Senate record.
Back in 1971, Gravel, then the Democratic senator from Alaska, got a copy of the Pentagon Papers from Ben Bagdikian of The Washington Post. On June 29 of that year, during a meeting of a subcommittee of which he was the chair, he read the document until 1 a.m., then had the remaining 4,100 pages inserted into the congressional record. Such acts are protected by the Speech or Debate Clause in the Constitution.
A subsequent court case confirmed that Gravel was within his rights as a senator. There was some dispute about how he had obtained the papers, but luckily that wouldn't be a question in this case, because this is a report created by the Senate itself.
In theory, any senator could do this. Ron Wyden of Oregon or Udall are obvious candidates, as they have proven themselves to be the committee's foremost champions of civil liberties. But Udall is in a tough re-election campaign this year, and Wyden is also up in 2016 (though he is probably a shoo-in). Feinstein, by contrast, is not up until 2018, when she may well retire, given that she'll be 85 at that date.
However, there is a better reason for Feinstein to take this on. Though she has always been strongly supportive of the intelligence community, this dispute goes far beyond that. This is about defending the Senate as an institution. The CIA has lied through its teeth, hacked into the committee's computers, and abused its redacting privileges, all but declaring that the Senate is not fit to oversee the agency. It's both an outrage against democratic principles and a slap in the face of the Senate.
As the chair of SSCI and one of the most distinguished senators in the country, Feinstein makes an ideal candidate for a demonstration of Senate dignity. It may not solve the problem of a lawless intelligence community (we would need criminal prosecutions for that), but it would be a victory against an executive branch that has run roughshod over the legislature. It's time the Senate stood up for itself.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published