Action Quote by Michael Hayden

My literal responsibility as director of the CIA with regard to covert action was to inform the Congress - not to seek their approval;…

— Michael Hayden

I think there's always a role for Congress under every instance in every administration to conduct oversight of the executive branch.

— Paul Ryan

As both a career intelligence officer and as an American citizen, I am a strong believer in the importance of oversight. Simply put, experience…

— Gina Haspel

If we cannot share aspects of our secret work with the public, we should do so with their elected representatives. For CIA oversight is…

— Gina Haspel

Essentially Rumsfeld wins, Cheney wins, and the CIA and State Department lose. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld have more centralized control over intelligence, analysis, and…

— Seymour Hersh

Every responsible chief in the CIA knows that the more covert the action, the greater the need for a clear policy and a defined…

— Tyler Drumheller

“One informed theory holds that the secret procedures have a specific, defined role for a small, preselected set of congressional leaders—perhaps as small as…

— Garrett M. Graff

Yes, [I am accusing the CIA of] misleading the Congress of the United States, misleading the Congress of the United States. I am.

— Nancy Pelosi

Everything the CIA does is deniable. It's part of its Congressional mandate. Congress doesn't want to be held accountable for the criminal things the…

— Douglas Valentine

Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…

— Leon Panetta

As a member of Congress, a member of the Armed Services Committee, and a U.S. Marine, I take my oversight of the executive branch…

— Ruben Gallego

What the Agency [CIA] does is ordered by the President and the NSC [National Security Council]. The Agency neither makes decisions on policy nor…

— Philip Agee