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McCain Floats Independent Probe of CIA Spying Charge

<p>"We need a thorough and complete investigation," Arizona Republican says.</p>
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Sen. John McCain says an independent investigation might be necessary to determine whether the CIA improperly accessed Senate computers.

"It is very disturbing, and we need a thorough and complete investigation, and I'm trying to figure out who would be doing it, because there's allegations of bias on both sides, so we may need some kind of independent investigation," the Arizona Republican said Tuesday, acknowledging that he had yet to gather all the facts.

McCain does not currently serve on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence but has been one of the leading voices of criticism of the CIA over enhanced interrogation tactics. On Tuesday morning, panel chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein publicly accused the CIA of accessing Senate staff computers in a possibly unconstitutional search of documents concerning the agency’s past use of the tactics.

"I know that they concealed information concerning waterboarding - I know that for sure, because I fought with them for several years in my opposition of waterboarding,” McCain told reporters. “We had to pass a law to prohibit it before it would stop.”

McCain acknowledged his past criticism of Brennan, whom he implied leaked details of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.

"I have never had a great deal of confidence in Mr. Brennan, because when he was in the White House and the Bin Laden raid, all those details were revealed to the point where Secretary [Bob] Gates in Bob Woodward's book went over and said, 'I've got a new communications strategy for you' to [then-National Security Adviser Tom] Donilon -- and he was talking about Brennan too -- and that was, 'shut the f up,’” he said.

“And so I have no doubt about the politicization of Mr. Brennan," McCain added.