Buckley’s resignation, effective on January 31, has raised speculation over the reasoning behind his decision. Both Capitol Hill and CIA officials have ruled out politics or his involvement with any investigations in particular. He served in the position for four years.
“Mr. Buckley’s departure has been in the works for months,” said CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani. “After a long and distinguished career in public service, he is pursuing an opportunity in the private sector and there are no reasons for leaving other than that.”
The departure comes a month after the Senate Intelligence Committee’s release of the so-called Torture Report, detailing the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques following the 9/11 attacks.
The Committee’s outgoing chairwoman, Senator Dianne Feinstein, recently issued a series of recommendations on preventing the use of torture in the future, which included increasing the CIA inspector general’s power.
Civil liberties advocates also lamented the timing of Buckley’s resignation.
“The CIA inspector general is one of the few people who has tried to impose some accountability on the CIA at a time when the White House and many in Congress are failing to do their oversight jobs,” said Christopher Anders of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Agency’s internal watchdog, Buckley spearheaded an investigation into a dispute between the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding access to a special computer network the CIA set up to share documents related to the agency's use of harsh techniques.
His office found that some of the CIA agency employees had acted in “a manner inconsistent” with the understanding the Senate committee had with the CIA regarding access to the network’s information. The confusion surrounding the information incited allegations that both entities engaged in spying against each other.
CIA director John Brennan issued a complaint to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s leadership charging that Senate investigators obtained documents the agency believed they should not have accessed.
In response Feinstein noted in a statement that there was concern that the CIA officials acted improperly when they searched the computer’s network to access the documents.
"As far as the allegations of the CIA hacking into Senate computers, nothing could be further from the truth.… That's beyond the scope of reason," Brennan said at the time.
Last July, Buckley’s Office issued a report on the dispute, resolving that five CIA staffers had gained unauthorized access to certain areas of Senate computers. While the report remains classified, a one page summary confirms the CIA’s role and mentions that the officials snooped through some of the investigator’s emails.
The investigation prompted wide criticism from lawmakers and led to a CIA-commissioned accountability review regarding potential reprimands for the employees who were identified as snooping. However, the Justice Department declined to file criminal charges against the CIA staffers.
Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight said Buckley had “raised some serious concerns about the conduct of the CIA in trying to thwart the Senate Intelligence Committee… The lack of repercussions is very troubling and his departure so soon afterwards is troublesome.”
Deputy Inspector General Christopher Sharpley will serve as acting IG until a new CIA inspector general is confirmed.
