?anked Butts Btnatz

WASHINGTON, DC 20510

January 21, 2015

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

In January 2014, CIA personnel conducted an unauthorized, unprecedented search of Senate
committee ?les, including the emails and other ?les of Senate staff investigating the use
of torture. The CIA Inspector General stated in a July 2014 report that this search involved
?improper agency access to SSCI ?les.? A review board selected by CIA Director Brennan
concluded in December 2014 that this CIA search ?resulted in inappropriate access to SSCI work

product.?

When Director Brennan was publicly asked about this search in March 2014 he initially
attempted to deny that the CIA had improperly accessed Senate ?les, stating that ?nothing could
be further from the trut and ?that?s just beyond the scope of reason in terms of what we would
do.? The reports of both the Inspector General and the CIA review board show that this denial

was contradicted by the facts.

In June 2014, senior of?cials from the FBI, NSA and the ODNI all testi?ed publicly that it
would be inappropriate for their agencies to secretly search Senate ?les without external
authorization. We are encouraged that most members of your administration appear to recognize
that such a search would be an unacceptable violation of constitutional checks and balances.

Unfortunately, despite multiple requests, Director Brennan still has not publicly acknowledged
that this search was improper, or even made a commitment that the CIA will not conduct such
searches in the future. This is wholly unacceptable behavior in a democracy.

You have repeatedly spoken about the need for the American public to have con?dence that
senior intelligence of?cials respect US laws and the Constitution. Director Brennan?s refusal to
acknowledge that unauthorized clandestine searches of Senate ?les are improper has clearly
undermined that con?dence.

We believe that it is necessary for you to address this matter directly, and to ensure that senior
of?cials in your administration recognize the importance of adhering to the rule of law. We ask
that you instruct Director Brennan to acknowledge that the unauthorized search of Senate
?les was improper and will not be repeated.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

ME a?
Run Wyden Hireno Marti Heinrich
United States Senator United States Senator United States Senator