Testimony of Christopher R. Sharpley Senate Select Committee of Intelligence Conflrmation Hearing for CIA Inspector General October 17, 2017 Chairman Burr, Vice Chairman Warner, and members of the Committee, thank you for affording me this opportunity to appear before you today as you consider my nomination to be the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency. I am honored and humbled thatPresident Trump has placed his confidence in me to tackle the challenges of this important position. Mr. Chairman, before I proceed with my testimony, with the committee's indulgence, I'd like to express my gratitude to my family who is here today, and who has been so supportive; my wife of 33 years Kimberly, our three children, Gillian (and her husband James Carroll), Stefan, and Aidan, and my mother, Joyce Sharpley. There are also several friends in attendance who are here to show their support for me. I am flattered and thankful for their presence today. Chairman Burr, if I may, I would like to speak to my background and experience that I believe, qualify me to serve as CIA Inspector General. I am grateful to have had an opportunity to serve our nation over the past 36 years, a journey that began shortly after receiving a commission in the United States Air Force, in 1981. My initial training was as a special agent—counterintelligence officerin the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The skills I acquired prepared me for challenging assignments during my ten years of active duty service, and during the ten years in the Air Force Reserves, that followed. My assignments included commanderand Director of Security—leadingteams of counterintelligence and security specialists in support of highly classified Special Access Programs. I retired honorably from the Air Force Reserves in 2002. Upon transitioning to the part-time Reserves, I began fulltime employment as a civilian federal special agent at the Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General. I rose through the ranks to become Deputy Inspector General for Investigations and Inspections, with program leadership responsibilities covering the nation's nuclear weapons complex and system of national laboratories. I was privileged to have been asked by two new Inspectors General at the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to assist them in building brand new Offices of Inspector General, focused on detecting and countering fraud in the efforts by the federal government to stabilize U.S. banking, securities and financial markets during the economic crisis of the 2008 - 2012 timeframe. In 2010,1 received a Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service, for my leadership in building investigative programs that identified billions in fraud, and supported successful prosecutions thatoften returned significant dollars to the U.S. Treasury. In 2012,1 retired from federal service as a civilian special agent—law enforcement officer. That is when my experience at CIA began. I was asked by then CIA Inspector General David Buckley to compete for his Deputy Inspector General position. Mr. Buckley informed me that he hoped I would bring the best-practices I had gleaned from other IG-related leadership roles, to be applied at the CIA Office of Inspector General. I answered that call, and entered back into federal service in 2012, where I served as Mr. Buckley's Deputy until his retirement in January 2015, and where I have served as Deputy and Acting Inspector General, until now. Mr. Chairman, I strongly believe in CIA's mission—to pre-empt threats to our nation and to further U.S. national security objectives. I also believe the mission of the InspectorGeneral is essential at CIA. I have, and continue to stand firmly behind the outstanding work of the CIA Office of Inspector General Team of auditors, inspectors, investigators and support staff. As Acting Inspector General, I have issued over 100classified reports and have made nearly 350 recommendations to CIA leadership to strengthen key programs and operations, and promote economy and efficiency across the CIA mission. I have further strengthened processes and procedures within the Office of Inspector General, by incorporating professional standards and best-practices utilized by Offices of Inspectors General across the federal community. I have endeavored, I believe successfully, to establish a reputation within CIA as an independent, objective and honest Acting InspectorGeneral, who does not hesitate to tackle the hard issues, speaks truth-to-power, and is trusted by CIA officers assigned around the world, and by the Directorand his senior team. And, it is my hope, as it has certainly been my objective, to gain the trust of this Committee. If confirmed', I will continue to keep the Committee informed of Office of Inspector General work, and I will continue to be responsive to Committee concerns and queries. As I observe world events, it strikes me thatthe mission of the CIA has never been more important than it is right now. National security risks associated with North Korea, Iran, Russia and China, to name but a few, require CIA's keen attention. As these risks increase and as the world threat matrix rapidly changes, CIA appropriately responds and, I believe, independent, robust and objective oversight becomes more vital. I have observed during my career that classified, high-risk missions, big and small, do not receive the same level of public scrutiny and feedback that unclassified activities receive—and clearly there is good reason for that. This is why a capable Inspector General is needed—one who understands intelligence activities, and who will independently and effectively audit, evaluate and investigate, to ensure mission integrity and efficiency. I am confident that the experience and skills I have acquired throughout my career, and in particular as Acting Inspector General at CIA, have prepared me to fulfill the responsibilities of CIA Inspector General. Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this opportunity to testify before you and the Committee. I am pleased to answer any questions you may have.