Thread by @JasonLeopold

THREAD: Some background on how this story @a_cormier_ and I reported came together, which is also a story about #FOIA

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https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1466157705958080512

I have been reporting on CIA on and off for more than 15 yrs. But everything the agency does is considered classified at some level. So obtaining info about an operation or a program or what's taking place behind the scenes at the agency means relying on anonymous sources

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The best way to keep a check on intel agencies like CIA & to learn about what's going on inside the agency is by requesting via FOIA inspector general reports from closed investigations

That's what I did. I first requested copies of reports from closed investigations in 2012

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The inspector general documents I requested back then related to the CIA's torture program and the death of a detainee in Afghanistan and IG reports about allegations detainees were drugged

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vice.com/en/article/43m…

vice.com/en/article/qva…

My requests for reports from closed IG investigations became broader. I started filing #FOIAs for reports from all closed investigations. CIA said it would take years before they could even process the requests so I sued. And then I filed more requests & sued again & again

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The reports I started to receive were wide ranging including one where CIA launched a surveillance operation to catch the suspects hacking into their vending machines and stealing snacks

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buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

When @a_cormier_ & I started to read the collected reports I obtained we spotted a pattern: the IG seemed to be routinely investigating employees & contractors for sex crimes involving children & referred the cases to DOJ for prosecution but it would be kicked back to CIA

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So we reported it out and that's how we ended up with this story.

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One of the most frustrating things is the number of years it takes to get these documents released. That's because the docs have to be declassified and it's a lengthy process. So we end up reporting on investigations that were closed years ago.

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But without #FOIA you wouldn't know about what's been going on behind the scenes at CIA. And because we want this kind of accountability reporting to be backed up by documents (all of which we shared) we feel it's worth waging these public records battles.

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