House to investigate if CIA removed material from Senate computers

WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. House intelligence committee said Congress must determine if the CIA removed material from the Senate committee's computers.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told CNN that there is "going to be a penalty" if the CIA broke the law. He said his Senate counterpart, Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., would not have made the charge unless she believed it was true.

Feinstein said Tuesday she believes documents were removed from Senate staff computers during an investigation last year. She said the CIA searched the computers to determine if Senate staff had documents they had not been authorized to examine.

"It's troubling to see this, but I do have immense respect for Sen. Feinstein," Rogers said. "If she's going down to the floor, she clearly believes that something untoward happened."

Feinstein said the CIA might have broken laws involving congressional oversight and domestic espionage.

CIA Director John Rogers, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Justice Department will investigate Feinstein's charges. But he said "nothing could be further from the truth."