The Church Committee was a US Senate select committee in 1975 that investigated abuses by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Chaired by Idaho Senator Frank Church (D-ID), the committee was part of a series of investigations into intelligence abuses in 1975, dubbed the "Year of Intelligence", including its House counterpart, the Pike Committee, and the presidential Rockefeller Commission. The committee's efforts led to the establishment of the permanent US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Frank Church
Philip Hart
Walter Mondale
Barry Goldwater
Frank Forrester Church III was an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Idaho from 1957 until his defeat in 1980. He was the longest serving Democratic senator from the state and the only Democrat from the state who served more than two terms in the Senate. He was a prominent figure in American foreign policy and established a reputation as a member of the party's liberal wing.
Church in 1975
Senator William Borah, whom Church admired
Commemorative plaque in Idaho City where Church announced his candidacy for the presidential election
From left: Senator (and future Vice President and President) Joe Biden, Senator Frank Church and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat after signing Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, 1979