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United States Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency
The Office of Inspector General (often abbreviated to OIG) of the
United StatesCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the independent overseer of the organisation. Since 2021, the office has been held by
Robin Ashton. The first inspector general was appointed in 1952.[1]
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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[1] 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.[1]
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.[3]
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".[4] 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.
^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. Washington DC: GPO. p. 425.