The CIA has reportedly been collecting data in bulk through a secret program and its details have been hidden from the public and Congress.
Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico sent a letter to intelligencer officials asking for the declassification of more details from the program.
The Washington Post reported that “Large parts of the letter, which was sent in April 2021 and declassified Thursday, and documents released by the CIA were blacked out”.
On Thursday, the CIA also declassified some recommendations from a report compiled by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board about the program. Large parts of the letter and recommendations were redacted.
Wyden and Heinrich allege that the program has operated “outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection”.
The lawmakers wrote, “The CIA has secretly conducted its own bulk program,” but the rest of the line has been redacted.
“This basic fact has been kept from the public and from Congress. Until the PCLOB report was delivered last month, the nature and full extent of the CIA’s collection was withheld even from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” they continued.
The senators also called for the CIA to release information about the agency’s “relationship with sources and the legal framework for the collection” and “the kind of records being collected and how much of Americans’ data was being maintained,” according to The Hill.
CIA privacy and civil liberties officer Kristi Scott released a statement saying, “CIA recognizes and takes very seriously our obligation to respect the privacy and civil liberties of U.S. persons in the conduct of our vital national security mission”.
“CIA is committed to transparency consistent with our obligation to protect intelligence sources and methods,” Scott added.
Wyden and Heinrich have called for the declassification and release of further information on the program.
