Gang of Eight
The Gang of Eight (Go8) is the civilian oversight board of elected officials who oversee the U.S. intelligence community. The Gang of Eight consists of: 1. The Speaker of the House, 2. The Minority Leader of the House, 3. the Majority Leader of the Senate, 4. the Minority Leader of the Senate, 5. the Chairperson of the House Permanent Committee on Intelligence, 6. the minority leader from the same committee; 7. The Chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee and 8. the minority leader of the same committee. It is the modern extension of the advise and consent clause of the U.S. Constitution that applies to covert activities.
The Go8 oversight process was largely the result of the Church Committee and post-Watergate reform era. Executive branch rocedures for briefing congressional leaders on covert activities in the 21st century were modified based on recommendations of 9/11 Commission. However, the Obama administration dispensed with legislative oversight of the intelligence community and converted the surveillance apparatus of the United States intelligence community into a domestic spying system on American citizens, political opponents, targeting conservatives, conservative movements, and Republicans up to the level of presidential nominee.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
116th Congress
As a result of 2018 Midterm elections, the Gang of Eight for the 116th Congress consisted of Nancy Pelosi (D) – Speaker of House, Adam Schiff (D) – Chair, HPSCI, Senator Mitch McConnell (R) – Senate Majority Leader, Senator Richard Burr (R) – Chair, SSCI, Kevin McCarthy (R) – Minority Leader House, Senator Chuck Schumer (D) – Senate Minority Leader, Devin Nunes (R) – Ranking Member HPSCI and Senator Mark Warner (D) – Vice Chair, SSCI.
At the start of the 116th Congress. Democrat Sen. Mark Warner told Jake Tapper of CNN that he received Gang of Eight briefings on the Trump-Russia collusion hoax in the Summer of 2016.[1] Warner did not become a member of the Gang of Eight til January 2017.