New Senate Intelligence Boss Demands That White House 'Return' CIA Torture Report Copies

from the so-they-can-be-burned dept

Thu, Jan 22nd 2015 4:07am — Mike Masnick

We had mentioned in the past, that once Senator Richard Burr took over the Senate Intelligence Committee, it seemed likely that the CIA torture report, prepared by the Committee's staffers, would be buried. That was before the redacted version of the executive summary was released, and it was written to explain why an agreement needed to be reached to release the report before the new Congress took over. However, what we didn't expect was that Senator Burr, upon taking office, would then take the rather unprecedented step of trying to bury the report anyway.

But that's exactly what he's doing.

Specifically, he has freaked out and demanded that the White House return every copy of the full 6,600 page report, saying that Senator Feinstein never should have delivered that full report to anyone in the administration:

Burr, upon taking charge in January, wrote to the executive branch and the federal agencies in receipt of the document, and asked that it be returned to the committee, as he did not feel it was a valid disclosure.

“It gets pretty technical,” Burr said, confirming he sent the letter. The full document, he explained, had been voted complete in the 112th Congress, and the release of the executive summary was voted on by the 113th Congress.

But what wasn’t ever agreed upon, said Burr, was the disclosure of the full report to several arms of the federal government, which prompted his letter demanding all copies be returned.

And, that's not all he's asking for. He's also demanding back the so-called "Panetta Review," which was the internal review, done by the CIA of the torture program, with findings that largely mirrored the Senate Intelligence Committee's report. The Panetta Review had been done, on the orders of then director Leon Panetta, and the CIA insists it was only meant for internal use at the CIA. At some point, however, according to the Intelligence Committee staffers, the CIA gave a draft of that document over to the those staffers. That resulted in then Senator Mark Udall asking the CIA for the final review -- leading the CIA to freak out that a Senator knew of the existence of the Panetta Review in the first place.

That, of course, resulted in the CIA then spying on the Senate staffers' computers to find out how they got the document and the CIA ridiculously claiming that the staffers had violated criminal laws in removing the document from the network and storing it in a safe place. Udall, before leaving Congress, argued that the Panetta Review should be released, but Burr has (not surprisingly) demanded the document back.

Once again, this raises some serious questions about what Senator Burr thinks his role is. Is it oversight of the CIA -- or is he the CIA's protector? Because the demands for both of these reports to be "returned" so that he can more or less destroy them, certainly suggests the latter, rather than the former.

And, as ridiculous as it may sound to demand the return of these reports, it's more than just a gesture of solidarity with the CIA. The ACLU is currently suing the CIA over its refusal to release the Panetta Review under a FOIA request and also the federal government for refusing to release the full CIA torture report. Having that information in other parts of the government make it more likely that a court could order it to be turned over. But Burr seems to be focused on making sure that it's only held by "friendly" parties who might destroy this important historical document, detailing the CIA's abuses. As the ACLU noted in a statement:

“Senator Burr is supposed to be overseeing the CIA, not covering up its crimes. The full Senate torture report was given to Executive Branch agencies to be widely used to make sure that the federal government learns its lesson and never uses torture again. Senator Burr’s attempt to recall the report seems like a bid to thwart Congress’s own Freedom of Information Act, which protects the rights of the American people to learn about their own government. Americans should ask, if Senator Burr isn’t going to serve his role in the Constitution’s system of checks and balances, then why did he want to be chairman of the intelligence committee? This is a poor start to a chairmanship.”

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Filed Under: cia, cia torture report, foia, oversight, panetta review, richard burr, senate intelligence committee
Companies: aclu

49 Comments

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Ninja (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 3:00am

So we are talking about physical pages here are we not? Because if he's talking about returning digital copies at least it adds a funny aspect to this absurdity. The thing is already out, the report is already causing terrible repercussion so the best thing now would be to let things work out and punish who has to be punished while reining in the CIA.

At least the Americans know Mr Burr supports torture. Hopefully you are good, law abiding Americans with no connections to the very broad terroristic spectrum, right? Soon torture coming to America, suspicion of terrorism throws Constitution and Human Rights out of the window.
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 3:45am

Re:
If I'm reading it right, while the redacted report was released, what he's trying to do is have every unredacted version returned(and likely destroyed), likely to keep someone from releasing the full report and allowing everyone to see just how much worse the full thing is(and allow people to compare the two versions).

And yeah, with his actions, he has made it completely and totally clear that he is in fact a supporter of torture, and has absolutely zero interest in punishing the CIA for their actions, due to not seeing anything wrong with what they did.
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 3:48am

Answering their own question
Americans should ask, if Senator Burr isn’t going to serve his role in the Constitution’s system of checks and balances, then why did he want to be chairman of the intelligence committee?

Simple enough:

Senator Burr is supposed to be overseeing the CIA, not covering up its crimes.

He wanted the position in order to better cover up the CIA's heinous crimes, and keep any real 'oversight' from occurring in the future.
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 3:54am

Dissapointment
Udall, before leaving Congress, argued that the Panetta Review should be released, but Burr has (not surprisingly) demanded the document back.

If Udall really believed that the review should have been released, he should have done so himself. 'Asking' clearly wasn't going to work in the time he had left in congress, and it should have been blatantly obvious that the ones taking over the committee that could release the report, would never do so, so he should have, as one of his last acts, made public the Panetta Review himself.

By just 'asking' and then doing nothing until it reached the point where he couldn't do anything, the claims that he believed it needed to be public were exposed as nothing but empty words.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:29am

Re:
Remember, a majority of Americans actually support torture! I realize that ignorance is universal but damn does it feel like we are proud as hell of our ignorance!
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David, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:46am

1990/01/15 in Erfurt
1990/01/15 in Erfurt about 100.000 German demonstrators stormed the Stasi central building to put a stop to the ongoing panicky destruction of the Stasi files that was the last operation of the disbanded ministry.

A second storm and hunger strikes in September put a stop to the plan to move the files to Koblenz in West Germany where they could have been kept out of the reach of former GDR citizens interested in their personal files.

But then we are talking East Germany here with citizens that had not had a chance to become bored and tired with freedom yet.

In the U.S., burying past misdeeds will meet no significant resistance.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:48am

Wait where does this guy think he gets his power, I'm sick of these fuktarded assholes thinking they are above the citizens of this country , he needs to be put in check ,and our elected officials need to get it done.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:55am

Re: Re:
USA!USA!USA!
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:57am

Senator Burr’s attempt to recall the report seems like a bid to thwart Congress’s own Freedom of Information Act, which protects the rights of the American people to learn about their own government. Americans should ask, if Senator Burr isn’t going to serve his role in the Constitution’s system of checks and balances, then why did he want to be chairman of the intelligence committee?

to me it seems that what Burr is trying to do is make the CIA not just more important than the government and the President, he's trying to make it more important than anything! that is not good because it smacks of the first step towards there being no way to make the CIA or any of it's people accountable for what it does!!
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:00am

Re:
Yeah, about that...

Those 'elected officials' are the prime source of his power, namely their indifference to rocking the boat by actually trying to hold anyone accountable, him included. After all, if they call him out on his actions, then someone might do the same when they do something slimy/underhanded/horrific, and politicians are nothing if not self-serving, so simple self-interest keeps most of them quiet.
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David, 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:01am

Re:
Because if he's talking about returning digital copies at least it adds a funny aspect to this absurdity.

Not at all. Once the order to return all electronic copies has been given, anybody disclosing a copy can and will be prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917. As long as possession of a copy is not in itself illegal but merely the content classified, you can only prosecute regarding privilege violations. Which is not enough for the death penalty.

Burr means business.
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:04am

Re:
You mean like the NSA, or the DOJ, or the FBI, or the...

The entire government has gone rogue at this point, they don't answer to anyone, because none of them have any interest in holding the other agencies accountable for their actions.
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me, 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:08am

Sounds like he is a criminal
And be thrown in jail. Or shot for treason.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:19am

Obligatory link:
http://www.27bslash6.com/overdue.html
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:52am

Re: Re:
For far too many(though one would be too many), 'supporting your country' is the same as 'supporting the people who run it'. And given how rabid a good portion of the US citizenry can get with regards to 'patriotism', that means anything the government does is by default 'good' to them, and should be supported.

Of course, it helps to have government friendly 'news' agencies doing their best to spin the matter, downplaying the bad/vile while hyping the 'good', or just flat out lying about the details when spin won't cut it.
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David, 22 Jan 2015 @ 5:56am

Re:
Americans should ask, if Senator Burr isn’t going to serve his role in the Constitution’s system of checks and balances, then why did he want to be chairman of the intelligence committee?

That one is easy. Because he isn't going to serve his role in the Constitution's system of checks and balances. Most importantly, now nobody else is going to, either.
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David, 22 Jan 2015 @ 6:07am

Re:
You mean because of the "locate the spine" puzzle that would be an insurmountable challenge with Burr?

It's some sort of a cheap science fiction flick where the American Government is stealthily replaced with invertebrates. Wire transfer controlled roaches or something.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 6:31am

Returning the docs
So, is he going to go over to the White House and watch while they smash some old hard drives?
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Mark Harrill (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 6:38am

Regulatory Capture
We've heard of Regulatory Capture and how that works time and time again. Do we need to coin a new phrase of Legislator Capture?
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Just Another Anonymous Troll, 22 Jan 2015 @ 6:56am

I support returning the copies.
Of course, he won't like how I support returning them to him.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:09am

That's like demanding to "un-release the Kraken". You can't un-release the Kraken! It's just not possible.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:18am

Re:
Used?
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:28am

Re: Re:
I think you hit it on the head there, the aim isn't some hopeless 'stuff the genie back in the bottle' goal, but rather making it illegal for anyone to possess, discuss, or distribute the thing, making it much harder for any leaks to occur.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:35am

Someone needs to do a fancy infographic thing that's easy to digest and shows all of the absurd violations the government and law enforcement agencies have committed in the last decade and how many of them have been punished.
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:45am

Re:
The first would take a screen/page dozens of feet tall/wide to list and explain even half of what they've done, but you could fit the entirety of the second on a single sheet of blank paper.
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Ninja (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:52am

Re: Dissapointment
I'm not sure everybody is prepared for a life of harassment. I can see why he wouldn't release it even if he had access.
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Ninja (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 7:55am

Re: Re: Re:
A million times that. And I don't think Americans support torture, I think there's a lot of ignorance at play much like most Germans wouldn't support the 3rd Reich if they knew everything that was going on (granted many simply turned blind eyes but some didn't even know what was happening).
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That One Guy (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:10am

Re: Re: Dissapointment
'Harassment' would probably have been grossly underestimating it. Airing out the dirty-laundry of an agency involved in kidnapping, torture, and murder would almost certainly lead to one hellish, even potentially short life afterwards, as they made his life as miserable as possible in retaliation.

While I can understand, and even sympathize with his choice not to further antagonize a group of sadists, sociopaths, and people who make the worst criminals in prison look tame in comparison, it does make his choice to argue for something he knew would almost certainly never happen while he was in a position to affect it, and absolutely never happen once he wasn't, more like an empty PR stunt than actual belief in what he was saying. It's easy to argue for something if you know you won't have to follow through after all.

Still, I suppose that's what makes Snowden, and Manning, and others like them all the more impressive. They faced the choice, and despite the risk, they decided it was worth the personal cost to make the knowledge public. If everyone had that kind of courage, then it would cease to be such an amazing feat.
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tomczerniawski, 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:11am

“It gets pretty technical,” Burr said, confirming he sent the letter. "I mean, we don't want to teach ISIS our most effective torture techniques, do we?" he added, trying to awkwardly conceal a growing erection.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:33am

Redacted. tr.v. See [redacted].
This episode is exactly why 'the right to be forgotten' is so dangerous. The primary usage of this 'right' will be govt officials covering up embarrssing/illegal govt misconduct.
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tqk (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 10:11am

Shades of the Fed conversation taping.
This reminds me of that woman who surreptitiously taped meetings between financial regulators and the institutions they were supposed to be regulating. How'd all the regulators turn into captured cheerleaders instead? Citizens should be reading this guy the riot act.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 10:31am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Every State has the capacity to do what any State has ever done or worse. That is the result of institutionalized human nature, which holds its authority through violence.
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gorehound (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 10:47am

Typical hypocritical Republican Slimeball...coming from the Party of Personal Liberty too.That Party of supposed personal liberty.
There you go............these rats do not believe in any of your so called liberties.
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tomczerniawski, 22 Jan 2015 @ 11:10am

Re:
Their rule has always been "liberty for me, not for thee" anyway.
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David, 22 Jan 2015 @ 12:22pm

Re: Sounds like he is a criminal
Come off it. He would have enough money to avail himself of a deed-independently successful defense. But there will be no prosecution anyway.

American politics has introduced the concept of a crook too big for failure.
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Roc Rizzo (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 1:26pm

Out of touch with reality
This senator is totally out of touch with reality in the 21st century.
Even if they got printed, dead tree copies of the report, they could be replicated in today's copying machines.
If they were given digital copies, it's just laughable as to how easy these files could be copied.
These bass turds have to get out of the 17th century, and into the 21st.
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Alt0 (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 1:34pm

If This Happens
Next time my dog takes a crap on the carpet, I will explain how he has made such a dangerous mess and demand it get sucked right back up his butt!
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John Fenderson (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 1:36pm

Re: Re: Sounds like he is a criminal
"American politics has introduced the concept of a crook too big for failure."

Be fair. The US didn't introduce this concept. It has been around for as long as governments have. The US just hopped on the bandwagon.
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Personanongrata, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:00pm

CYA for CIA
How quaint, Senator Richard Burr, North Carolina, abdicating his oversight duties as the chairman of the select committee on intelligence, in performing CYA for CIA.

Senator Richard Burr is a fraction of an American.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 4:06pm

Re: Dissapointment
Well, are we sure he even had access to a copy?
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:35pm

It's rather obvious what's going on here. Senator Richard Burr isn't overseeing the CIA. He's aiding and abetting the CIA's crimes against humanity. Which means Senator Richard Burr is also guilty of crimes against humanity and should be tried in an international court of law.
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Padpaw (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:39pm

Re: Re:
when rome ran out of bread and circuses the people could no longer live in apathy and ignore the mess their country was in.
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Padpaw (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:42pm

Re:
he has a militarized police force, an apathetic civilian population that barely cares the world hates them because their leaders are committing war crimes constantly. Millions of dollars he has stolen from the people he is supposed to represent. the backing of those charged with American safety that instead are using their power to steal, spy and silence anyone that opposes them.

He can keep committing treason because he knows no one will call him out on it, save some patriot or vigilante that kills him
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Padpaw (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:46pm

Re:
he is already too late on that front considering ISIS was created by the CIA to fight against Assad, and look that backfired just like the creation of Al Qaeda did.
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Padpaw (profile), 22 Jan 2015 @ 8:47pm

Re:
there is a bit of a line ahead of him for former and current American government officials
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David, 23 Jan 2015 @ 2:31am

Re: Re: Re: Sounds like he is a criminal
Well, substitute "introduced" by "embraced" then. Actually, more like "dry-humped".
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Ninja (profile), 23 Jan 2015 @ 2:46am

Re: Re: Re: Dissapointment
True enough. And harassment would reduce. When everybody is on the boat and if society as a whole helps these people even if the power tries to destroy them then the power actually has no power against them.
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GEMont (profile), 23 Jan 2015 @ 4:09pm

The right man for the job.
"Senator Burr is supposed to be overseeing the CIA, not covering up its crimes."

Hmmmm.... I must have missed it!

When did those two jobs become separate occupations?

As far as I've seen over the last 2-3 years, "oversight" literally translates to "covering up crimes", when it comes to any aspect of the USG.

Apparently, Burr has already received his yacht and an unlimited supply of bimbos and cocaine.

---
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Blackfiredragon13 (profile), 25 Jan 2015 @ 11:36am

Re: Re:
The problem inherent in there being if the person disclosing it isn't a US citizen.
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