4 CIA Agents Were in NYPD for Years After 9/11: Report

Questions over the CIA's involvement with the NYPD, bound up with domestic surveillance concerns, have been a hot topic for years. A new report from the CIA inspector general is adding more fuel to that fire, saying four CIA officers were embedded in the police department for years following the Sept. 11 attacks. One of those officers was involved in domestic surveillance, despite a CIA ban on the practice, the New York Times reports. The official said that since he was on unpaid leave from the CIA, his actions were permissible.

The two organizations' collaboration involved "irregular personnel practices" and suffered from "inadequate direction and control," the inspector general found in the report, which has emerged thanks to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The report found no illegal practices, says an NYPD rep. But with the department facing lawsuits over surveillance of Muslim groups, watchdogs are concerned. "The CIA is not permitted to engage in domestic surveillance," says one. "Despite the assurances of the CIA’s press office, the activities documented in this report cross the line." The Times has the full story. (More CIA stories.)