Gang of Eight

The Gang of Eight is a common colloquial term for a set of eight leaders within the United States Congress. Specifically, the Gang of Eight includes the leaders of each of the two parties from both the Senate and House of Representatives, and the chairs and ranking minority members of both the Senate Committee and House Committee for intelligence.

The President of the United States is required by 50 U.S.C. § 413(a)(1) to "ensure that the congressional intelligence committees are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States." However, under 50 U.S.C. § 413b(c)(2), the President may elect to report instead to the Gang of Eight when he thinks "it is essential to limit access" to information about a covert action.

The individuals are sworn to secrecy and there is no vote process.

Background

The term "Gang of Eight" gained wide currency in the coverage of the Bush administration's warrantless domestic spying program, in the context that no members of Congress other than the Gang of Eight were informed of the program, and they were forbidden to disseminate knowledge of the program to other members of Congress. The Bush administration has asserted that the briefings delivered to the Gang of Eight sufficed to provide Congressional oversight of the program and preserve the checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches.^[1]

The non-partisan Congressional Research Service released a legal analysis on January 18, 2006,^[2]^[3] concluding that the Bush administration's refusal to brief any members of Congress on the warrantless domestic spying program other than the Gang of Eight is "inconsistent with the law".^[4]^[5]

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales repeatedly made references to the "Gang of Eight" when being questioned about the warrantless surveillance/ domestic spying while testifying at the Justice Department Oversight hearing held July 24, 2007. AG Gonzales' testimony may be retrieved from CSPAN online.

Current Members of the Gang of Eight

United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence:

Leadership in the United States House of Representatives: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23), Minority Leader Leadership in the United States Senate: Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Minority Leader Adam Schiff (D-CA-28), Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA-22), Ranking Member United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: Richard Burr (R-NC), Chair Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chair

Popular Culture

The Gang of Eight appeared in the Season Three finale of the political drama The West Wing. President Bartlet was staging an assassination of a foreign leader who was discovered to be behind several terrorist attacks, including a failed attack on the Golden Gate Bridge. The Gang of Eight on The West Wing consisted of the Majority and Minority Leaders from both the House and the Senate as well as the Chairman and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. The Gang of Eight on The West Wing differed from the real world's Gang of Eight as the Speaker of the House (portrayed in the fourth and fifth seasons of the show by actor John Goodman) was not a member.

References

^ President's Memorandum Limiting Executive Agency Disclosures to Congress, October 05, 2001, FAS
^ Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance To Gather Foreign Intelligence Information, January 18, 2006, Senator Patrick Leahy
^ M20060118 - CRS Statutory Procedures Brief for Congress, January 18, 2006, Congressional Research Service
^ Report Questions Legality of Briefings on Surveillance, January 19, 2006, The New York Times
^ Congressional Agency Questions Legality of Wiretaps, January 19, 2006, The Washington Post

External links

Scalable Context Timeline: Bush Administration Broke Law in Failing to Properly Inform Congress of Domestic Surveillance Program, History Commons
50 U.S.C. 413
50 U.S.C. 413b

[1] President's Memorandum Limiting Executive Agency Disclosures to Congress, October 05, 2001, FAS

[2] Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance To Gather Foreign Intelligence Information, January 18, 2006, Senator Patrick Leahy

[3] M20060118 - CRS Statutory Procedures Brief for Congress, January 18, 2006, Congressional Research Service

[4] Report Questions Legality of Briefings on Surveillance, January 19, 2006, The New York Times

[5] Congressional Agency Questions Legality of Wiretaps, January 19, 2006, The Washington Post

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]