McCarthy tasks House Intelligence Republicans to investigate NSA
| July 1, 2021
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy directed Republicans on the Intelligence Committee to investigate the National Security Agency over concerns of “politicization.”
There has been a “disturbing trend” at the agency, the California Republican said Wednesday, following the Biden administration’s move to sideline Michael Ellis, a top NSA lawyer picked by former President Donald Trump, extending to this week when Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed he was being spied on by the NSA.
“Earlier this year, I sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Austin expressing concern over the politicization of the Agency through the sidelining of Michael Ellis as NSA General Counsel,” McCarthy said in a statement. “I asked that Mr. Ellis be reinstated and expressed my concern regarding undue political influence in NSA placing Mr. Ellis on administrative leave.”
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“The NSA cannot be used as a political instrument, and House Republicans will ensure accountability and transparency,” he added.
McCarthy also insisted the agency has “refused to deliver information requested by the Republican Members on the House Intelligence Committee.”
The latest incident outlined by McCarthy broke into the public eye on Monday when Carlson said a government whistleblower told his team the NSA is “spying” on their electronic communications and is “planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.”..
(Excerpts from Washington Examiner)