The Office of Inspector General (often abbreviated to OIG) of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) is the independent overseer of the organisation. Since 2024, the office has been held by Robert Host. The first inspector general was appointed in 1952. The Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General has worked on cases in collaboration with the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

and the

National Security Agency Office of Inspector General National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

The 1970s

The

Rockefeller Commission The United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States was ordained by President Gerald Ford in 1975 to investigate the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies within the United St ...

Church Committee The Church Committee (formally the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities) was a US Senate select committee in 1975 that investigated abuses by the Central Intelligence ...

, and

Pike Committee The Pike Committee is the common name for the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence during the period when it was chaired by Democratic Representative Otis G. Pike of New York. Under Pike's chairmanship, the committee inv ...

all recommended strengthening the office of OIG. Their criticisms included claims that the IG had few staff, was ignored, and was denied access to information. Their suggestions were not made into law.

1980s

The CIA OIG investigation of the Iran Contra scandal was criticized in the final report of the Congressional investigation of the Iran-Contra affair. Members of the

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of ...

(especially Boren, Cohen, Specter, and Glenn) wrestled with how to improve the IG while not interfering with the work of the CIA. They tried to make a bill that would satisfy various members of Congress and also not be vetoed by president George Bush. Senator Boren (chairman of the SSCI) worked with

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and retained b ...

who was deputy to

Brent Scowcroft Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, and a two-time National Security Advisor (United States), United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under Georg ...

at the time. In 1989 a new IG law was passed creating a more independent IG. The IG also would no longer be chosen by the

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1946 to 2004, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Se ...

but would instead be appointed by the President with the "

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in List of enacting formulae, enacting formulae of bill (proposed law), bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive ...

" of the Senate.

Global War on Terror

There were several controversies surrounding the IG during the years of the Global War on Terror. The IG released a controversial report on failures of the intelligence community before 9/11.Miller, 2007 IG staff Mary O. McCarthy was fired in 2006. In 2007

General Michael Hayden Michael Vincent Hayden (born March 17, 1945) is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligenc ...

, head of the CIA, had attorney

Robert Deitz Robert L. Deitz (born February 7, 1946) is an American lawyer and former intelligence officer who served as senior counsel to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and General Counsel of the National Security Agency during the directors ...

review the work of the IG.

2004 Inspector General Report

In 2004 the CIA OIG published a report on prisoner treatment in the Global War on Terror. It was entitled "CIA Inspector General Special Review: Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities"."CIA Inspector General Special Review: Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities"
at the ACLU web site After a

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

lawsuit by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, a less redacted version was declassified in 2009 and released to the public.

List of Inspectors General

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Central Intelligence Agency Office Of Inspector General United States inspectors general Inspector General