"About a dozen former CIA officials named in a classified Senate report on decade-old agency interrogation practices were notified in recent days that they would be able to review parts of the document in a secure room in suburban Washington after signing a secrecy agreement," reports the AP. Then, on Friday, many were told they would not be able to see it, after all."
Some of the officials named were "furious." Democratic Senate aides were, too: why were these men offered the opportunity to read it in the first place?
And as Freedom of the Press Foundation's Trevor Timm asked on Twitter: "Are the actual torture victims going to get to read the CIA report, or just the people who sanctioned the torturing?" Good question.
And in related news, from McClatchy:
The CIA obtained a confidential email to Congress about alleged whistleblower retaliation related to the Senate's classified report on the agency's harsh interrogation program, triggering fears that the CIA has been intercepting the communications of officials who handle whistleblower cases.
The CIA got hold of the legally protected email and other unspecified communications between whistleblower officials and lawmakers this spring, people familiar with the matter told McClatchy. It's unclear how the agency obtained the material.
At the time, the CIA was embroiled in a furious behind-the-scenes battle with the Senate Intelligence Committee over the panel's investigation of the agency's interrogation program, including accusations that the CIA illegally monitored computers used in the five-year probe. The CIA has denied the charges.
