Two US senators accuse the CIA (the Central Intelligence Agency, founded in 1947 by the National Security Act) of have a monitoring programunknown until then, which involves the collection of personal data without the consent of Americans.
A secret program to spy on Americans?
According to the two senators, “the nature of the collection, the way it is carried out and the extent of it are not yet clear”. They claim, however, that it is a “bulk collection” and are convinced that the CIA spent years hiding this device from the public and Congress. Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich, the two senators in question, learned about this program through their seats on the Senate Intelligence Committee. They have urged top spy officials to declassify the details of this secret program.
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The CIA would have had the agreement of the White House many years ago, by signing Executive Order 12333. This is a mandate that authorizes the intelligence services to monitor the population. This executive order was signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. It is in a report published in April 2021, titled “Deep Dive II”that senators uncovered the actions of the CIA. This report was made public on Thursday, February 10, 2022. In a letter to Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, and William J. Burns, the Director of the CIA, the senators ask that the details of this program be made public. secret.
Senators want this CIA program made public
According to them, it is a device set up “outside the legal framework which, without any judicial, congressional or even executive branch oversight, as is the case for collections carried out under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act”. If the CIA does not in fact have authorization to ” to spy “ Americans, the agency still collects large flows of data Internet and telephone that can allow him to obtain valuable information. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed to set legal limits on how US spy agencies collect information.
When contacted, Kristi Scott, CIA Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, said that “The agency recognizes and takes very seriously its obligation to respect the privacy and civil liberties of American persons in the conduct of its vital national security mission, and conducts its activities, including collection activities, in accordance with American Law ». Scott refers here to the famous Executive Order 12333. She adds that “The CIA is committed to transparency, consistent with our obligation to protect sources and methods of intelligence”.