Defense, Spy Chiefs to Face House Panel After Reported Attempt to Oust NSA Head

06:16 20.11.2016

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper were asked late Saturday to appear before a House select committee by the end of the year after they reportedly urged President Barack Obama to fire National Security Agency (NSA) chief Michael Rogers.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Washington Post cited several unnamed officials familiar with the matter as saying Carter and Clapper recommended last month that Obama remove Adm. Rogers, as well as separate the US military's Cyber Command from the NSA.

"I will convene an open-session hearing at the earliest possible opportunity so the Committee may understand the veracity of the Post article and fully understand the impact of the proposed separation of NSA and USCYBERCOM on the IC [Intelligence Community]," Devin Nunes, the chair of the permanent select committee on intelligence wrote in a letter on the Committee's website.

Nunes gave Carter and Clapper until Sunday afternoon to submit a list of dates they were available to appear before the Committee by the end of December. He also described Adm. Rogers, NSA chief since 2014, as a professional whose expertise helped the agency through turbulent times after its online spying was outed by Edward Snowden in 2013.

Additionally, Nunes said he was "concerned that the article may contain unauthorized disclosures of classified information."

Michael Rogers is considered to be a contender for Clapper's post at the helm of 17 intelligence agencies under Donald Trump. Earlier this week, he reportedly met with US President-elect Trump in New York City, without informing his superior, which the Post said worried the US administration.

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