Pete Hoekstra

Hoekstra Releases Letter on Alleged CIA Cooperation in Foreign Probe

Capitol Related Documents July 20 2007 Letter to DNI Director McConnell

Washington, Jul 20, 2007 -  U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, today released a letter he sent to Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell requesting an investigation be opened into the alleged participation of senior CIA officers with a probe conducted by the Council of Europe.

“It would represent a serious breach at CIA if what this foreign investigator claims is true,” Hoekstra said. “Every intelligence official swears an oath to protect the people and national secrets of this great land. To willingly discuss the details of any classified government program with an agent of a foreign power without authorization is absolutely unconscionable. This would represent an egregious violation of the public’s trust.”

In his letter to McConnell, Hoekstra calls on him to determine the validity of the investigator’s claims and to request a criminal referral from the Justice Department if they are true. If not, Hoekstra asked McConnell to demand the Council of Europe force its investigator to stop making false claims about CIA official’s in an attempt to bolster the validity of his report.

In testimony and questioning before the European Parliament this week, an investigator appointed by the Council of Europe claimed that anonymous, senior CIA officials angry with the policies of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld aided his probe. The investigator claimed that he based significant portions of his report’s findings on conversations he had with high-ranking CIA officials.

“A policy disagreement is not an excuse to sellout your country,” Hoekstra said. “The Intelligence Community has a whistleblower process that even includes coming to the congressional Intelligence committees, which no one has done with regard to this issue. With no consideration for national security, it seems some people may have gone to a foreign power instead.

“The vast majority of people in the Intelligence Community are hard-working individuals doing their best to protect the American people. It would be a shame if their efforts were undermined by the rogue actions of some of their colleagues.”