United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

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United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Permanent select committee
Active
Seal of the United States House of Representatives.svg
United States House of Representatives
116th Congress
United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.jpg
Seal of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
History
FormedJuly 14, 1977
Formerly known asSelect Committee on Intelligence
Leadership
ChairAdam Schiff (D)
Since January 9, 2019
Ranking memberDevin Nunes (R)
Since January 9, 2019
Structure
Seats22 (One Vacancy)
Political partiesMajority (13)
  •   Democratic (13)
Minority (8)
  •   Republican (8)
Jurisdiction
Purposeto "oversee and make continuing studies of the intelligence activities and programs of the United States Government"
Oversight authorityUnited States Intelligence Community
Senate counterpartUnited States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Subcommittees
  • Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research (STAR) Subcommittee
  • Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation (C3)
  • Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (INMAR)
  • Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (DWIS)
Website
intelligence.house.gov

The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committee in the U.S. House of Representatives charged with the oversight of the United States Intelligence Community, though it does share some jurisdiction with other committees in the House, including the Armed Services Committee for some matters dealing with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the U.S. military.

The committee was preceded by the Select Committee on Intelligence between 1975 and 1977. House Resolution 658 established the permanent select committee, which gave it status equal to a standing committee on July 14, 1977.[1]

Jurisdiction[]

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The committee oversees all or part of the following executive branch departments and agencies:

  • Office of the Director of National Intelligence
  • Central Intelligence Agency
  • Defense Intelligence Agency
  • Department of Defense
  • Department of Energy
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Department of Justice
  • Department of State
  • Department of Treasury
  • Drug Enforcement Administration
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  • National Reconnaissance Office
  • National Security Agency
  • Office of Naval Intelligence
  • Sixteenth Air Force
  • Space Delta 7
  • Army Intelligence and Security Command
  • Coast Guard Intelligence
  • Marine Corps Intelligence Activity

History[]

Prior to establishing the permanent select committee in 1977, the House of Representatives established the "Select Committee on Intelligence", commonly referred to as the "Pike Committee", so named after its last chairman, Otis G. Pike of New York. The select committee had originally been established in February 1975 under the chairmanship of Congressman Lucien Nedzi of Michigan. Following Nedzi's resignation in June, the committee was reconstituted with Pike as chair, in July 1975, with its mandate expiring January 31, 1976. Under Pike's chairmanship, the committee investigated illegal activities by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The final report of the Pike Committee was never officially published, due to Congressional opposition. However, unauthorized versions of the draft final report were leaked to the press. CBS News reporter Daniel Schorr was called to testify before Congress, but refused to divulge his source.[2] Major portions of the report were published by The Village Voice, and a full copy of the draft was published in England.

During the 1980s the HPSCI worked to acquire access to covert action notifications of the CIA, as well as to strengthen the role of the committee in intelligence agency funding. Under the Reagan administration, the HPSCI and United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) worked with the Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey on what was known as the "Casey Accords". The accords required that covert action findings were to be accompanied by "scope papers" that included a risk/gain assessment of each such activity. However, the deal was not acceptable to the HPSCI, and after the Iran-contra scandal, more pressure was placed on strengthening the oversight of committees.[3]

In 2017, the committee was tasked along with the SSCI to evaluate the degree of Russian interference in 2016 US elections.[4] The committee has also been investigating allegations of wiretapping of President Donald Trump, as well as ties between Russian officials and members of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.[5][6] The committee came under intense scrutiny in 2017-2018 due to allegations of partisanship and leaks of classified information by members of the committee and their staff. In March 2018, the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections was abruptly ended by the committee's Republican members despite the assertion by Democratic members that the investigation was incomplete and had failed to gather pertinent information. Notably, House Intelligence Republicans released a draft of their investigatory report which contradicted some findings of the U.S. Intelligence Community and was written without the input of House Democrats.[7][8] In March 2018, after further bitter disagreements, Republican committee member Tom Rooney claimed that the committee had "lost all credibility" and had become "a political forum for people to leak information to drive the day's news."[9] In July 2018, the chair of the committee, Representative Devin Nunes, accused the Department of Justice, and its Federal Bureau of Investigations, of obstructing the committee's Trump/Russia related investigation in the hope of a Democratic takeover of congress later that year.[10]

With change of Party leadership in the House for the 116th United States Congress, the Committee launched a probe of Trump's finances and Russian ties in February 2019.[11] In June 2019, in the course of hearings on the national security implications of climate change, the White House blocked the submission of a statement by the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, and the analyst who wrote the statement, Rod Schoonover, resigned.[12][13]

Members, 117th Congress[]

Majority Minority
Ex officio
  • Nancy Pelosi, California
  • Kevin McCarthy, California

Subcommittees[]

Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research (STAR) Subcommittee Jim Himes (D-CT) Chris Stewart (R-UT)
Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation (C3) Subcommittee André Carson (D-IN) Rick Crawford (R-AR)
Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (INMAR) Subcommittee Eric Swalwell (D-CA) TBD
Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (DIWS) Subcommittee TBD Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)

Chairs[]

Select Committee chairs[]

  • Lucien N. Nedzi (D), 1975
  • Otis G. Pike (D), 1975–1976

Permanent Select Committee chairs[]

  • Edward P. Boland (D), 1977–1985
  • Lee H. Hamilton (D), 1985–1987
  • Louis Stokes (D), 1987–1989
  • Anthony C. Beilenson (D), 1989–1991
  • David K. McCurdy (D), 1991–1993
  • Dan Glickman (D), 1993–1995
  • Larry Combest (R), 1995–1997
  • Porter Goss (R), 1997–2004
  • Pete Hoekstra (R), 2004–2007
  • Silvestre Reyes (D), 2007–2011
  • Mike Rogers (R), 2011–2015
  • Devin Nunes (R), 2015–2019
  • Adam Schiff (D), 2019–present

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "H.Res.658 - Resolution to amend the Rules of the House of Representatives and establish a Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence". Congress.gov. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. ^ U.S. House. Hearings Before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Investigation of Publication of Select Committee on Intelligence Report. 94th Congress, 2nd session. July 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29, September 8, 14, 15, 1976.
  3. ^ Snider, L. Britt. The Agency & The Hill CIA's Relationship with Congress, 1946–2004 (PDF). p. 63.
  4. ^ "Donald Trump's habit of making accusations without evidence is corrosive". The Economist. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "Five things to watch at the House Intelligence Committee's Russia hearing". Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  6. ^ "House Intelligence Committee member on the Russia-Trump investigation: 'There is more than circumstantial evidence now'". Business Insider. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "Russia probe: House intel Republicans end investigation, find 'no evidence' of collusion". USA TODAY. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Megerian, Chris (March 13, 2018). "Republicans wind down House Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation, claiming no evidence of collusion". latimes.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  9. ^ Squitieri, Jason (March 13, 2018). "Republican member of House Intel Committee says it has 'lost all credibility'". CNN. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  10. ^ Kredo, Adam (July 17, 2018). "Intel Chair: FBI, DOJ Obstructing Trump Probe in Hope of Dem Takeover in Congress". Free Beacon. Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "House Intelligence Committee launches broad new probe of Trump's finances and Russia ties".
  12. ^ Eilperin, Juliet (July 10, 2019). "Intelligence aide, blocked from submitting written testimony on climate change, resigns from State Dept. Rod Schoonover's decision to leave was voluntary, according to individuals familiar with the matter". Washington Post. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  13. ^ "White House edits of intelligence agency's testimony. This document shows White House officials' comments on the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research climate testimony, which they ultimately blocked from being submitted to Congress". Washington Post. June 14, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.

External links[]

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