Bernie Sanders Wanted to Abolish the CIA

Forty years ago, a 29-year-old Bernie Sanders called for abolishing the CIA. He was at the time running for U.S. Senate as a member of the Liberty Union Party, which called the military’s draft “a modern form of slavery.” Sanders told an audience in Vermont the Central Intelligence Agency was accountable to no one and acted as a tool of U.S. corporate interests that repeatedly overturned democratic leaders. Sanders, now a presidential contender, said the CIA responded only to “right-wing lunatics who use it to prop up fascist dictatorships.” Sanders’ political past is well-known by officials across the aisle, but party leaders worry that Republicans could use it against him in the future. Others say Sanders’ past statements have little to do with his current presidential run. “I think people should look at his 25-year congressional career,” one source told a Politico reporter. “I think he should be measured and judged on that.”