Congressional Oversight
443 Articles
Drone Reporting Requirement in the Intelligence Authorization Act and Congress’ Ability to Compel Public Disclosure
Last week, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted 13-2 to approve the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act. Included in this appropriations bill is a new measure that would require…
Key Issues in the New Senate Bill to Require White House Drone Strike Casualty Reports
This week, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The legislation contains an important section which would…
La Plus Ça Change: A Look Back at Intelligence Gathering Reform
“To understand the past in order to better propose guidance for the future” -Church Commission (1976) Today’s report that the NSA has been tapping into Google and Yahoo data…
“The Juice Wasn’t Worth the Squeeze” in Kyrgyzstan Fuel Contracts
The Pentagon recently announced the end of its use of the Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan for logistical support of the war in Afghanistan. The arrangement unraveled due to…
On Trees Falling Silently in Oversight Forests: Three Reflections on Yesterday’s HPSCI Hearing
Although it’s been overtaken by subsequent events, I thought I’d post some reflections on yesterday’s rare open hearing before the House Permanent Select Committee…
A “Hardy Perennial”: US Intelligence Operations Targeting Foreign Leaders
At Tuesday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said, it is a “hardy perennial as long as I have been in the intelligence…
Live Feed of HPSCI Hearing on Potential Changes to FISA [Update: hearing now complete]
[Update (5:15 pm): The HPSCI Hearing on Potential Changes to FISA is now complete. Recorded video of the hearing testimony is provided below in two parts, due to the length of…
We All Go Down Together: NSA Programs Overseas Violate Americans’ Privacy, Yet Escape FISC, Congressional Oversight
Ongoing revelations show that significant NSA surveillance activities take place outside of either Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) or congressional oversight, even…
Benghazi Oversight and the Death of Expeditionary Diplomacy
The assassination of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya on 9/11/2012 was a stark and sad example of the risks taken by diplomats who push out into the field in unstable…
Significant Fast & Furious Opinion in Oversight Committee v. Holder
On Monday, a federal district court refused to dismiss the congressional civil contempt action in Committee on Oversight and Government Reform v. Holder (“Holder”). This opinion…
Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Act — Language Now Available
Yesterday, I wrote about the proposed Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act. The language of the proposed bill is not yet available on the Library of Congress’…