The Church Committee was a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church in 1975 that investigated abuses by the CIA, FBI, NSA, and other intelligence agencies. It revealed widespread illegal surveillance, covert operations, assassination plots, infiltration of activist groups, and manipulation of the media. The hearings exposed programs like COINTELPRO (the FBI’s campaign against civil rights and antiwar groups), the CIA’s MKULTRA mind control experiments, and foreign assassination efforts.

The committee’s findings shocked the public and led to major reforms, including the creation of permanent congressional oversight committees for intelligence and new laws like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Church Committee remains a landmark example of government accountability, showing how unchecked intelligence powers can be turned inward against citizens.

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