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Senator Wyden: Change Needed at the CIA

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he's not comfortable with John Brennan serving as the Director of the CIA.
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Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Senator Ron Wyden revealed he is not currently comfortable with John Brennan serving as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Stopping short of saying the President should fire Brennan, Wyden said he believes some changes do need to be made. “I want to give [Brennan] the chance to end this culture of denial, to deal with the misrepresentations,” said Wyden. “If he doesn't do that we're going to go have get somebody who will.”

When asked by Chuck Todd about whether those involved in CIA interrogation should be prosecuted, Wyden said the Justice Department needed to review the new facts.

“But what I'm especially troubled by is John Brennan on Thursday really opened the door to the possibility of torture being used again,” the Democrat from Oregon responded. “And that's why it's so important that our report come out...I intend to introduce legislation to make it clear, for example, that if torture is used in the future there would be a basis to prosecute.”

Wyden has a history of opposing Brennan, however. He was the only Democrat to join Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster in opposition to the director’s nomination this past summer. Wyden did so in protest of the administration’s refusal to clarify their policy on the use of drones against Americans.

He also responded to comments made earlier by former Vice President Dick Cheney, saying “Facts aren’t partisan.” The former vice president has been critical of the report, calling it biased, and a “terrible piece of work.”

— Dale Armbruster