Posted on Nov 20, 2016
GOP lawmaker asks officials to answer questions on NSA chief
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WASHINGTON — The GOP chairman of a top committee in Congress on Saturday asked the nation's intelligence chief and defense secretary to appear and answer questions about reports that they recommended the ouster of the director of the National Security Agency.
In a statement issued late Saturday, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper asking them to appear before the committee to "discuss the veracity of press reports" that they recommended the removal of Adm. Mike Rogers, who oversees NSA and the new U.S. Cyber Command.
Nunes referred to a report in The Washington Post, saying that Carter and Clapper wrote a letter to President Barack Obama last month recommending Rogers' removal. It's unclear why they would recommend dismissal. The Defense Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the news report.
Rogers has been mentioned as a candidate for a position in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, an idea that gained traction when Trump met with Rogers, whose tenure at the NSA has been tainted by breaches of classified material from the agency.
Rogers took the helm at NSA in 2014 after former contractor Edward Snowden stole massive amounts of classified documents and shared then with journalists, who disclosed widespread surveillance. Reforms to prevent future thefts were imposed, but more recently, the FBI arrested NSA contractor Harold Martin III, who they say had stolen enough classified material to fill roughly 200 laptop computers.
He has also been in the middle of a debate over whether the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command should be run by two people, not one.
Nunes defended Rogers.
"Since Adm. Rogers was appointed as NSA director in April 2014, I have been consistently impressed with his leadership and accomplishments," Nunes said in the letter.
Nunes asked Carter and Clapper to provide the committee with times and dates the two could testify by 5 p.m. Monday. He also said he planned to hold an open hearing soon to discuss how the intelligence community would be affected by a proposed separation of the NSA and Cyber Command.
In a statement issued late Saturday, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper asking them to appear before the committee to "discuss the veracity of press reports" that they recommended the removal of Adm. Mike Rogers, who oversees NSA and the new U.S. Cyber Command.
Nunes referred to a report in The Washington Post, saying that Carter and Clapper wrote a letter to President Barack Obama last month recommending Rogers' removal. It's unclear why they would recommend dismissal. The Defense Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the news report.
Rogers has been mentioned as a candidate for a position in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, an idea that gained traction when Trump met with Rogers, whose tenure at the NSA has been tainted by breaches of classified material from the agency.
Rogers took the helm at NSA in 2014 after former contractor Edward Snowden stole massive amounts of classified documents and shared then with journalists, who disclosed widespread surveillance. Reforms to prevent future thefts were imposed, but more recently, the FBI arrested NSA contractor Harold Martin III, who they say had stolen enough classified material to fill roughly 200 laptop computers.
He has also been in the middle of a debate over whether the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command should be run by two people, not one.
Nunes defended Rogers.
"Since Adm. Rogers was appointed as NSA director in April 2014, I have been consistently impressed with his leadership and accomplishments," Nunes said in the letter.
Nunes asked Carter and Clapper to provide the committee with times and dates the two could testify by 5 p.m. Monday. He also said he planned to hold an open hearing soon to discuss how the intelligence community would be affected by a proposed separation of the NSA and Cyber Command.
GOP lawmaker asks officials to answer questions on NSA chief
Posted from militarytimes.comPosted in these groups: NSA
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Edited >1 y ago
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To be honest if Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper are criticizing Adm. Mike Rogers, who oversees the National Security Agency and the new U.S. Cyber Command it may well indicate he is doing a good job SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL. I am looking forward to Defense Secretary Ash Carter being sent to the ash heap as he is replaced hopefully early next year:-)
Hopefully these lame-duck POTUS Obama appointees will be forthcoming as they respond to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) CW5 Charlie Poulton SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT Robert Hawks SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright
Hopefully these lame-duck POTUS Obama appointees will be forthcoming as they respond to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) CW5 Charlie Poulton SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT Robert Hawks SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright
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SSgt Robert Marx
Let all of God's people say amen to your comments, LTC Stephen F. ! The liberal agenda of the current administration makes the armed forces too much of a social experiment. The men and women in the armed forces are there to wage violence in defense of our Republic not to see if different type of people can get along.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
LTC Stephen F. roger that on your response, those are some key lines of efforts approach going into the new Presidency. I couldn't agree more there needs to be some serious change ASAP with the SECDEF and the Obama administration!
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The Outcome of these hearings could be most interesting and possibly bring to Light the Reasons and by whom the real decisions were made by... and from Whom the orders were issued
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Doing your job is one thing, but making sure checks and balances are in place to make sure individuals aren't serving their political & career ambitions is another. The NSA chief may well be doing a good job but he could also be walking a slippery slope. Did you know that the NSS chief is also the head of Cyber Command? Did you also know the NSA chief made an unannounced trip to meet the president elect without notifying the SecDef or DNI? Kind of answers the question why Clapper resigned immediately without helping with the transition.
Listen I will follow the orders given to me by the officers appointed over me by the president of the United States. But before we go ahead and just bash the current administration, let's make sure we look at the whole picture.
Yes we are about to shift in terms of policy and use of force but at the same time we could find ourselves in a place where the law of war can be "interpreted" to a point where we were doing Iraq and the insurgency
Listen I will follow the orders given to me by the officers appointed over me by the president of the United States. But before we go ahead and just bash the current administration, let's make sure we look at the whole picture.
Yes we are about to shift in terms of policy and use of force but at the same time we could find ourselves in a place where the law of war can be "interpreted" to a point where we were doing Iraq and the insurgency
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