Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On Opposing the Nomination of General Michael Hayden to be the
Next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
May 23, 2006
I voted against the nomination of General Michael Hayden to be Director
of the CIA because I am not convinced that the nominee respects the
rule of law and Congress’s oversight responsibilities. General
Hayden is highly experienced and talented. But, as Director of the NSA,
General Hayden directed an illegal program that put Americans on American
soil under surveillance without the legally required approval of a judge.
Having finally been briefed about this program last week, I am more
convinced than ever that it is illegal. Our country needs a CIA Director
who is committed to fighting terrorism aggressively without breaking
the law or infringing on the rights of Americans. General Hayden’s
role in implementing and publicly defending the warrantless surveillance
program does not give me confidence that he is capable of fulfilling
this important responsibility.
General Hayden failed in his testimony to express any reservations
about this Administration’s lack of respect for the rule of law.
Rather than committing to follow legally binding restrictions on the
authorities of the CIA, such as those prohibiting the CIA from engaging
in domestic security, he spoke about presidential authority and consultations
with government lawyers. Given that Administration lawyers continue
to assert presidential authority to override the law, General Hayden’s
answers were less than reassuring.
General Hayden’s conduct and testimony also raise serious questions
about his willingness to respect congressional oversight. He was complicit
in the Administration’s failure to inform the full congressional
intelligence committees about the warrantless surveillance program,
even though this notification is required by law. In his testimony,
he repeatedly failed to explain or criticize the Administration’s
failure to inform the full committees about the program. And he declined
to commit to notifying the full committees about all intelligence activities,
as is required by law.
Finally, I remain concerned about previous misleading testimony by
General Hayden regarding warrantless surveillance and his explanation
for that testimony. In 2002, he told a joint congressional committee
that, under FISA, persons inside the United States "would have
protections as what the law defines as a U.S. person and I would have
no authorities to pursue it." In fact, the President had already
authorized the NSA to bypass those legal protections. General Hayden’s
explanation for this statement, that he was speaking in open session
at the time and had earlier given a fuller briefing to the committee
in closed session, does not justify a public misleading statement.
The stakes are high. Al Qaeda and its affiliates seek to destroy us.
We must fight back and we must join this fight together, as a nation.
But when Administration officials ignore the law and ignore the other
branches of government, it distracts us from fighting our enemies. I
am disappointed that the President decided to make such a controversial
nomination at this time. While I defer to Presidents in considering
nominations to positions in the executive branch, I cannot vote for
a nominee whose conduct raises such troubling questions about his adherence
to the rule of law.
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