WASHINGTON – The chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), today announced that his committee would be launching an investigation into allegations that the CIA intentionally lied to Congress about “significant actions.” The investigation will focus on how Congress and its committees are kept informed by the executive branch and whether the recent revelations of information being withheld violated federal laws including the National Security Act of 1947.
The following can be attributed Michael Macleod-Ball, Interim Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
“We know now more than ever that
government transparency is essential to a functioning democracy and our
government cannot be held accountable if Congress and the American people are
left in the dark. Only by vigorously exercising its oversight responsibility can
Congress reassert its critical role as an effective check against abuse of
executive authority. We have the right to be informed of our government’s failed
and egregious policies. Our recent history has taught us that the rule of law is
meaningless if left unenforced.”