Keep Senate confirmation for top intelligence lawyers, civil liberties groups urge

""The general counsels of the CIA and ODNI wield extraordinary influence, and they do so entirely in secret, shaping policies on surveillance, detention, interrogation and other highly consequential national security matters," they wrote in the letter sent Friday and addressed to the top Republican and Democratic leaders on the Senate and House intelligence committees. "Moreover, they are the ones primarily responsible for determining the boundaries of what these agencies may lawfully do.""

"The letter contends that general counsels of other U.S. national security elements - including the departments of Defense and Homeland Security - require Senate confirmation. The CIA and ODNI "should not be held to a lower standard of scrutiny" especially given past overreaches connected to those agencies, the missive argues. Top-of-mind episodes include revelations of the CIA's post-9/11 torture programs, which tarnished the agency's reputation for years."

"The proposed Intelligence Authorization Act of 2026 amends the language of the roles for general counsel of CIA and ODNI so that they no longer need Senate confirmation, instead allowing the respective directors of the spy agencies to tap them immediately for the positions. The groups, which include American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy & Technology and the Center for Victims of Torture,"

A coalition of civil liberties groups requests that congressional intelligence committees keep Senate confirmation requirements for the CIA and ODNI general counsels. The proposed Intelligence Authorization Act of 2026 would remove those confirmation rules and permit agency directors to appoint general counsels immediately. The groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy & Technology and the Center for Victims of Torture — argue that removing confirmation would diminish legal accountability and oversight. The groups emphasize that CIA and ODNI general counsels wield secret, far-reaching influence over surveillance, detention and interrogation policy and point to past agency overreaches.

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