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Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General

Accountability and audit authority of the CIA


Accountability and audit authority of the CIA

FieldValue
agency_nameUnited States
Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency
sealFile:Seal_of_the_Central_Intelligence_Agency.svg
seal_width120px
seal_captionSeal of the Central Intelligence Agency
formed
jurisdictionUnited States
headquartersGeorge Bush Center for Intelligence, Langley, Fairfax County, Virginia
chief1_nameRobert Host
chief1_positionActing Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency
parent_agencyCentral Intelligence Agency
website

Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency

The Office of Inspector General (often abbreviated to OIG) of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the independent overseer of the organisation. Since 2024, the office has been held by Robert Host. The first inspector general was appointed in 1952. The Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General has worked on cases in collaboration with the United States Department of Justice and the National Security Agency Office of Inspector General.

The 1970s

The Rockefeller Commission, Church Committee, and Pike Committee all recommended strengthening the office of OIG. Their criticisms included claims that the IG had few staff, was ignored, and was denied access to information. Their suggestions were not made into law.

1980s

The CIA OIG investigation of the Iran–Contra scandal was criticized in the final report of the Congressional investigation of the Iran–Contra affair. Members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (especially Boren, Cohen, Specter, and Glenn) wrestled with how to improve the IG while not interfering with the work of the CIA. They tried to make a bill that would satisfy various members of Congress and also not be vetoed by President George Bush. Senator Boren (chairman of the SSCI) worked with Robert Gates who was deputy to Brent Scowcroft at the time. In 1989, a new IG law was passed, creating a more independent IG. The IG also would no longer be chosen by the Director of Central Intelligence but would instead be appointed by the president with the "advice and consent" of the Senate.

Global war on terror

There were several controversies surrounding the IG during the years of the global war on terror.

The IG released a controversial report on failures of the intelligence community before 9/11.

IG staff Mary O. McCarthy was fired in 2006.

In 2007, General Michael Hayden, head of the CIA, had attorney Robert Deitz review the work of the IG.

2004 Inspector General Report

In 2004, the CIA OIG published a report on prisoner treatment in the global war on terror. It was entitled "CIA Inspector General Special Review: Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities". After a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, a less redacted version was declassified in 2009 and released to the public.

List of Inspectors General

NameTerm startTerm endRefs
Donald F. ChamberlainJuly 1973July 1976
John H. WallerJuly 1976January 1980url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813000106/http://www.ignet.gov/igs/ighistory.pdfdate=August 13, 2009 }}'', 2007 May
Charles Ackerly BriggsJanuary 1980September 1982
James H. TaylorSeptember 1982July 1984
John H. SteinJuly 1984December 23, 1985
Carroll L. HauverDecember 23, 1985January 18, 1988
William F. DonnellyJanuary 18, 1988December 1, 1989
William F. Donnelly (Acting)December 1, 1989November 13, 1990
Frederick P. HitzNovember 13, 1990May 1, 1998
Dawn Ellison (Acting)May 1, 1998August 3, 1998
L. Britt SniderAugust 3, 1998January 20, 2001url=https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/press?id=263577title=Press | Intelligence Committeewebsite=www.intelligence.senate.govaccess-date=2020-06-10}}
Rebecca Donegan (Acting)January 21, 2001November 14, 2001
Rebecca Donegan (Deputy Inspector General)November 14, 2001January 14, 2002
George Clark (Acting Deputy Inspector General)January 14, 2002April 26, 2002
John L. HelgersonApril 26, 2002March 21, 2009
Patricia Lewis (Acting)March 21, 2009October 6, 2010
David BuckleyOctober 6, 2010January 31, 2015
Christopher Sharpley (Acting)February 1, 2015September 9, 2017
Cristine Ruppert (Acting Deputy Inspector General)September 9, 2017June 28, 2021
Robin AshtonJune 28, 2021December 31, 2024
Robert Host (Acting)December 31, 2024Incumbent

References

References

  1. Snider, L. Britt. "Creating a Statutory Inspector General at the CIA". [[Central Intelligence Agency.
  2. (October 29, 2024). "Office of Public Affairs | Six Charged in Scheme to Defraud the Federal Government | United States Department of Justice".
  3. House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran and the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition. (1987). "Report on the Iran-Contra Affair". GPO.
  4. Miller, 2007
  5. [https://www.aclu.org/oigreport/ "CIA Inspector General Special Review: Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities"] at the ACLU web site
  6. Council of the Inspectors General, ''[http://www.ignet.gov/sites/default/files/files/IG%20History%20(PAS)%20-%207-25-17.pdf Inspector General Historical Data] {{webarchive. link. (August 13, 2009 '', 2007 May)
  7. Wines, 1990
  8. Verton, 2001
  9. Hudec, James G.. (2001-01-01). "Unlucky SHAMROCK--The View from the Other Side".
  10. Snider, L. Britt. "Recollections from the Church Committee's Investigation of NSA".
  11. Snider, L. Britt. (January 1999). "Unlucky SHAMROCK: Recollections from the Church Committee's Investigation of NSA".
  12. [[Church Committee]]
  13. Verton, Dan. (2001-06-22). "CIA grappling with its role amid IT revolution".
  14. "A Message from the CIA Inspector General".
  15. "The Agency and the Hill: CIA's Relationship with Congress, 1946-2004 by L. Britt Snider, Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2008".
  16. [http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/S_folder/snider.html L. Britt Snider - The Literature of Intelligence: A Bibliography of Materials, with Essays, Reviews, and Comments J. Ransom Clark Emeritus Muskingum University New Concord, Ohio]
  17. Anderson, Nate. (2013-06-30). "How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975".
  18. [https://www.archives.gov/files/pidb/meetings/minutes12-15-06.pdf "Public Interest Declassification Board Meeting Minutes..." (Dec 15, 2006 - also included a panel discussion of historians from NRO, NSA, DIA, and the Office of the ... L. Britt Snider, Chairman of the PIDB, chaired the...)]
  19. [https://www.congress.gov/111/chrg/shrg66164/CHRG-111shrg66164.htm HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE, ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION], congress.gov, September 21, 2010, retrieved January 4, 2010
  20. [https://time.com/3655198/cia-david-buckley-inspector-general-resignation/ CIA Inspector General David Buckley to Resign], time.com, January 6, 2015, retrieved January 4, 2017
  21. "IG Net Page on CIA OIG".
  22. ""#CIA welcomes Robin Ashton, our new Senate-confirmed Inspector General"".
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