Bernie Sanders Once Advocated Abolishing CIA, Calling It a “Dangerous Institution’

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders once called the CIA a “dangerous institution that has got to go,” Politico reports.

At the time, Sanders was a 29-year-old socialist angry over the spy agency’s interventions in other country, including what he called America’s history of “overthrowing governments.”

Sanders was running for the U.S. Senate on the ticket of the anti-war Liberty Union Party.

Hillary Clinton allies have seized on the opportunity to attack Sanders, whose views have softened over time.

“Abolishing the CIA in the 1970s would have unilaterally disarmed America during the height of the Cold War and at a time when terrorist networks across the Middle East were gaining strength,” said Jeremy Bash, who served as chief of staff to CIA director Leon Panetta and now advises Clinton’s campaign. “If this is a window into Sanders’ thinking, it reinforces the conclusion that he’s not qualified to be commander in chief.”

Sanders supporters said it’s disingenuous to attack Sanders for something he said four decades ago.

“I think people should look at his 25-year congressional career,” said one person who worked for Sanders in the House of Representatives, and whose employment circumstances prohibit him from speaking on the record. “You don’t have to look at some speech from the early ’70s to know where he is on issues. There’s a very clear congressional record. I think he should be measured and judged on that.”