WASHINGTON (AP) – Disputing the conclusions of the CIA’s independent watchdog, an independent board has asserted that CIA officers acted reasonably when they secretly searched Senate computers last year after learning that Senate aides had removed certain classified documents related to the torture investigation.
The board, which was led by former Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, found fault with some of the findings by the CIA’s inspector general, who said in July that five CIA employees “improperly accessed” a Senate portion of a shared computer network.
The inspector general, David Buckley, resigned in December in what CIA officials insist is an unrelated development. CIA Director John Brennan apologized after the release of the inspector general report and convened the accountability board.
The Bayh-led board said the five CIA employees did not deserve to be punished.
“They acted reasonably under the complex and unprecedented circumstances involved in investigating a potential security breach in the highly classified shared computer network,” the board said in a statement.