Intelligence Committee Launches Full CIA Investigation

WASHINGTON, DC (July 17, 2009) — Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, Chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, issued the following statement to announce a full investigation into certain CIA programs and the Congressional notification process. "The House Intelligence Committee will move forward with a full investigation that will explore certain CIA programs and the core issue of how the committee is kept informed. My subcommittee will take the lead on significant portions of the investigation; we will explore instances where the Congress was not informed in a timely way and situations in which laws may have been broken. "This investigation will seek to review the process for notifying Congress and the Committee's role to oversee the intelligence community. It is very important for us to set the record straight going forward that the Congress wants to be, and needs to be, able to conduct its oversight function. "We want to look very closely at every aspect of the notification process and various programs. If it is determined by this investigation that the Vice President of the United States ordered Congress not to be told about certain CIA programs, there is reason to believe that constitutes a significant violation of the National Security Act. We'll follow that thread where it takes us and determine if there's reason to refer to the issue to the Justice Department or clarify the laws regarding notification. "Currently, we're collecting necessary documents from the appropriate agencies to proceed with our investigation. In the near future I hope to develop a timetable and soon after we're going to begin our investigation with hearings....