CIA Admits Spying On Senate Intelligence Committee

The CIA admitted Thursday to spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s computers while its staffers were preparing an investigation of the controversial post-9/11 interrogation and detention program. CIA Director John Brennan apologized to the committee leaders for the breach.

Agency spokesman Dean Boyd added in an email to The Associated Press that Brennan convened an accountability board to investigate the conduct of CIA officers involved and discipline them if warranted.

The apology was issued after the CIA’s inspector general found some agency employees “acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding” reached between the two groups in 2009 over access to information.

CNN reports that the CIA’s statement about the incident added:

“The director subsequently informed the [committee] chairman and vice chairman of the findings and apologized to them for such actions by CIA officers as described in the [inspector general’s] report.”

It added that Brennan “is committed to correcting any shortcomings related to this matter.” The admission that the CIA spied on the Senate Intelligence Committee helps close out an unusual, public dispute between the groups over access to classified information. The CIA initially accused the committee’s staffers of gaining access to internal agency documents. It also claimed the staffers improperly handled classified materials.

The Justice Department looked into the situation at the CIA’s request and decided there wasn’t enough evidence of a crime to pursue charges. In return, the CIA’s inspector general looked into the matter and concluded in a 700-page report that the CIA should not have been spying on the staffers’ computers.

Senate aides told the AP that the CIA used classified “hacking tools” to spy on the staffers and created a fake user account to try and retrieve the documents the Senate staffers allegedly improperly accessed.

Sources on either side of the dispute reacted differently to the CIA director’s apology for spying. A US official familiar with the inspector general report disputed that any hacking tools were used. The official added that the CIA did not act with malicious intent, but simply tried to account for documents they believed were accessed improperly.

The report compiled by staffers during the admitted CIA spying period is reportedly critical of the agency’s treatment of terrorism suspects, according to senators on the committee. It also finds that harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA didn’t help disrupt future terrorist attacks. The CIA has denied torturing suspects and claimed the techniques helped disrupt future acts of terror.

The CIA’s admission of spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee comes after months of denial.

[Image via NBC News]