Senate Considers Reconfirmation of the Director of Europeian Intelligence Agency
By Deepest House
(Europeia – May 19, 2017) – Speaker of the Senate McEntire opened discussion of the reconfirmation of the Director of Europeian Intelligence Agency North East Somerset on May 18. North East Somerset’s term is due to expire, requiring an affirmative vote by the Senate for him to continue in his role. McEntire also announced the formation of the Senate Intelligence Committee. In his announcement, McEntire invited Senators to pose questions for North East Somerset in support of the reconfirmation process.
“It's been nearly 180 days since NES' last reconfirmation as Director. In that time, we have had significant discussions surrounding intelligence matters and how they ought to be handled,” McEntire said. “In light of that, I have formed the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Senator Drexlore, that will receive a private briefing on the Trinnghazi scandal and make a recommendation to this committee regarding the nomination.” The Senate Intelligence Committee will receive a classified briefing from the director and deliver a recommendation to the Senate prior to any reconfirmation vote.
North East Somerset set the dominoes in motion for this scandal when he informed then president Calvin Coolidge that then World Assembly Delegate Trinnien had leaked classified information from the region’s External Affairs Advisory Chamber. Calvin Coolidge dropped Trinnien from consideration for a Cabinet post, and Trinnien announced his resignation as delegate and eventually resigned his Europeian citizenship as well. As pressure regarding his handling of the situation continued to mount, Calvin Coolidge resigned the presidency on May 14, citing real life concerns. The fallout from these events brought transparency concerns related to the activity of the EIA and Director North East Somerset to the fore of Europeian debate and conversation.
McEntire’s formation of the Senate Intelligence Committee falls short of the official investigation that some have called for in the region, an idea introduced by Comrade Snowball on May 9. Others joined in the call for an official investigation of some sort. “I think that an investigation committee could calm down high-attention conflicts such as this one,” said Le Libertia in discussing the merits of an investigation. “I feel that laws of confidentiality have been somewhat abused or unnecessary recently. Establishing an investigation committee could be the start of a movement for more transparency in government affairs.” Le Libertia also added that he felt the situation was mishandled by the administration. The Nation of the People also expressed his support for an investigation through a Senate committee, while Jahka added that giving the Senate certain investigatory authority could be of benefit to the region. Jahka did not, however, go so far as to say the current situation required an investigation.
The call for an investigation was in the minority, however, with many expressing trust in the current process and oversight mechanisms. “There are many avenues for recourse should, say, the [Director of the Europeian Intelligence Agency] maliciously mislead and break the law that exist already through things like the Court and the Senate,” said former president Aexnidaral Seymour, who recently returned to private life. Pichtonia offered alternatives to additional oversight that could increase credibility of the EIA. “In my view there would be several wiser, albeit maybe a bit more conservative, solutions,” he said, sporting a slick new pair of sunglasses featuring the flag of Germany on the lenses. “One of them would be to look at the workings and mechanics of the EIA legislatively and see what would make the EIA as institution more trustworthy to you rather than investigating lone incidents.”
While it appears that no official investigation by the Senate or any other government entity is imminent, the requirement to reconfirm North East Somerset has brought additional concerns to light regarding his role as director. Senator Verteger asked, “Are there individuals in Europeia who have been trained to ascend to the position of [Director of the Europeian Intelligence Agency] in the event that [North East Somerset] needs to vacate the position for any reason?” Senator Verteger also asked if there are plans in place to train a replacement for when the time inevitably comes that the current director can no longer serve in that capacity.
Speaker McEntire noted that the recent events have exposed a need for intelligence oversight reform. “In my opinion, this reconfirmation underscores the need for us to change our laws,” he said. “As it stands, we have no legal framework for intelligence accountability.”
It is unclear when the Senate Intelligence Committee will make its recommendation to the legislative body. While it is highly unlikely that the Senate will not reconfirm the director, the events leading up to the reconfirmation have cast the brightest light on the position and the reconfirmation process for it in quite some time in Europeia.
