CIA Briefs Senators on Algeria Rape Claims
ABC News report surprised members of Senate intel committee, sources say.
January 29, 2009— -- The CIA failed until Thursday to brief the full Senate intelligence committee that one of its senior officers, the former station chief in Algeria, has been under federal investigation for months for allegedly raping at least two Muslim women, congressional sources tell ABC News.
Following ABC News' exclusive report on the allegations Wednesday evening, members of the panel met today with CIA officials behind closed doors. Sources say some lawmakers are upset to learn of the investigation now, even though the agency has presumably known about the matter at least since two women came forward in September alleging that they had been raped by the official.
The CIA's former Algeria chief of station, identified as Andrew Warren in court documents, was ordered back to the U.S. in October after the two women accused him of drugging them and raping them in his residence in Algiers. Law enforcement officials say a search of his residence found tapes of sex acts Warren had apparently recorded surreptitiously. The women's rape allegations are under investigation by the Justice Department.
In a joint statement issued Thursday evening, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, the panel's first female chairperson, and Sen. Christopher Bond, R-MO, the committee's ranking Republican said the committee was "looking into the matter closely."
The panel "supports the ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice," the statement read. "We believe that the alleged activities are completely unacceptable."
The White House refrained from commenting on the matter Thursday.
Yesterday, a CIA spokesman declined to acknowledge the investigation or confirm Warren's identity, but said "I can assure you that the Agency would take seriously, and follow up on, any allegations of impropriety."