The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, launching a rare public battle with the CIA, claimed Tuesday that the agency may have committed a crime by allegedly spying on committee staffers.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., addressed the controversy in a scathing address on the Senate floor. She claims the CIA improperly searched a stand-alone computer network established for Congress as part of its investigation into allegations of CIA abuse in a Bush-era detention and interrogation program.
The California Democrat said the CIA searched the network this past January, an act she claimed may have violated the Constitution and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. She confirmed that the matter has been referred to the Justice Department by the CIA inspector general.
"Based on what Director [John] Brennan has informed us, I have grave concerns that the CIA search may well have violated the separation of powers principles embodied in the United States Constitution including the Speech and Debate clause," she said. "It may have undermined the constitutional framework essential to effective congressional oversight of intelligence activities or any other government function."
