EFF and Other Organizations: Keep Key Intelligence Positions Senate Confirmed

4 days 5 hours ago

In a joint letter to the ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, EFF has joined with 20 other organizations, including the ACLU, Brennan Center, CDT, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Demand Progress, to express opposition to a rule change that would seriously weaken accountability in the intelligence community. Specifically, under the proposed Senate Intelligence Authorization Act, S. 2342, the general counsels of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) would no longer be subject to Senate confirmation.

You can read the entire letter here

In theory, having the most important legal thinkers at these secretive agencies—the ones who presumably tell an agency if something is legal or not—approved or rejected by the Senate allows elected officials the chance to vet candidates and their beliefs. If, for instance, a confirmation hearing had uncovered that a proposed general counsel for the CIA thinks it's not only legal, but morally justifiable for the agency to spy on US persons on US soil because of their political or religious beliefs–then the Senate would have the chance to reject that person. 

As the letter says, “The general counsels of the CIA and ODNI wield extraordinary influence, and they do so entirely in secret, shaping policies on surveillance, detention, interrogation, and other highly consequential national security matters. Moreover, they are the ones primarily responsible for determining the boundaries of what these agencies may lawfully do. The scope of this power and the fact that it occurs outside of public view is why Senate confirmation is so important.” 

It is for this reason that EFF and our ally organizations urge Congress to remove this provision from the Senate Intelligence Authorization Act.

Matthew Guariglia

【JCJオンライン講演会】イスラエルとパレスチナ2国家共存は現実的な解決策なのか 講師:大治朋子さん(毎日新聞専門編集委員)10月25日(土)16時から17時30分

4 days 8 hours ago
■開催趣旨 イスラエルによるパレスチナ自治区ガザでのジェノサイドに対し国際社会の批判が高まっている。9月の国連総会では、パレスチナ国家承認とイスラエルとの2国家共存を支持する「ニューヨーク宣言」を日本も含む142カ国が賛成多数で採択。これに続き仏、英、加、豪などG7を始めとする各国がパレスチナ国家承認を表明し、その数160カ国、国連加盟国の8割にも達した。 イスラエルへの制裁の動きもある。一方、トランプ米政権は提示したガザ和平案合意に前のめり。問題は2国家共存で中東に平和が訪..
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