Andrew Napolitano on CIA Spying, Lying, and Torture
About four months ago, California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, went to the Senate floor and accused the CIA of committing torture during George W. Bush presidency and of spying on the committee that she chairs as it was examining records of that torture. CIA Director John Brennan responded by denying both charges. But last week, on a sleepy summer Friday afternoon, President Obama admitted that the CIA had tortured people. Shortly thereafter, Brennan admitted that the CIA had spied on the Senate. Then the president said he still has "full confidence" in Brennan.
This is approaching a serious constitutional confrontation between the president and Congress, writes Andrew Napolitano. Can the president's agents lawfully spy on Congress? Of course not. Can the CIA lie to Congress with impunity? Only if Congress and the Department of Justice let it do so.
