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| Home Front: Politix |
| New details on NSA program |
| 2006-02-09 |
| The White House, under mounting political pressure in Congress, provided the full House of Representatives intelligence committee on Wednesday with new details about its domestic spying program and pledged to do the same in the Senate. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and deputy U.S. intelligence chief, Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, briefed the House panel for the first time on operational details of the National Security Agency program that has raised an outcry among Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers said. A White House spokeswoman said the same officials would also provide details to the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday. Lawmakers said they hoped the three-hour, closed-door House briefing would lead to increased congressional oversight of the NSA program, which allows the agency to monitor international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without first obtaining warrants while in pursuit of al Qaeda operatives. Up to now, the White House has been willing to discuss the program only with eight senior lawmakers known as the "Gang of Eight," an approach that has drawn increasing criticism from Democrats and Republicans in recent days. But White House spokeswoman Dana Perino described the new material as "procedural information" and rejected suggestions that the White House was changing tactics. "We gave committee members some additional information without violating the principle that we had set forth, which is to limit a briefing on the full program," Perino said. House intelligence committee's Republican chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, described the briefing as a positive first step and said the classified discussion had avoided only certain technical issues. "While the briefing did not, and could not, cover the full operational aspects of the program, it will allow for increased committee oversight going forward," Hoekstra said. The panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Jane Harman of California, also sounded a positive note. "The ice is thawing," she told reporters. "The administration sees that it's better to work with Congress on this issue." But in the Senate, Democrats and Republicans continued to question Bush's legal authority and called for a full inquiry. Sen. John Rockefeller of West Virginia, ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, wrote to Bush on Wednesday asking that Gonzales and Hayden be allowed to brief the Senate panel on the full facts about the program. "Sen. Rockefeller has not received a response from the White House, and will continue to press for the full committee to have access to all operational and legal details of the program," said Rockefeller's spokeswoman, Wendy Morigi. Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday that he was drafting legislation to require the White House to submit the program for a legal review by the secret federal court that grants surveillance warrants under FISA. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #7 Snarling Arlan is grasping at straws if he thinks he can pass a law to restrict executive powers that he disagrees with politically. The SCOTUS will strike down the law while they are still debating. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-02-09 17:14 |
| #6 Is Rockerfeller squirming? Pretty easy to track leaks when information is shared with only eight. How about leaking some classic disinformation and seeing how long it takes before the leak shows up in the NYT? |
| Posted by: Danielle 2006-02-09 15:53 |
| #5 Americans |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-02-09 12:21 |
| #4 This is as big of a loser as was Dan Rather's attempt to rally the lefty masses behind the National Guard "scandal". The usual suspects think they can exite the bases over this because they live in an echo chamber. They couldn't float Air America in a single city without stealing from orphans and widows, so that tells you the actual numbers of moonbats flying around out there. Yet if you read the reports in the media the prevailing wisdom is that the NSA spying is bad, bad, very bad and we all very concerned. Of course, Fox hypes it as "Do American's think the NSA spying bad?" But the bottom line is that no matter how hard the media hypes it, whines, spins, and masturbates on the subject, Americans don't care if the NSA spys on Americans supsected of speaking with terrorists. Period. No amount of hyping this and trying to get polls to prove Americans are "concerned" is going to change the fact that the Dems are riding a dead horse that can't make it to the next election. Most of us are just ticked that they are allowing the terrorists to get information on the program and we are going to be even more ticked if the terrorists manage to pull off an attack. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-02-09 12:20 |
| #3 Got a computer voice poll interview last night. These are not the exact words but it went something like this: Former Vice President Al Gore gave a speech last night on the ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING of MILLIONS OF AMERICANS this President and the Republicans have have carried out. Press 1 if you Support this ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING. 1 Press 1 if you will be voting Democratic for Rep. to Congress in the next election. Press 2 if you will be voting Republican. ...... hm no other options? 2 CLICK Have you quit beating your dog yet? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-02-09 11:45 |
| #2 "New Details" executive summary: a. We have a way-big computer. b. It contains the phone number of everyone living, as well as a few who claim to be dead. c. We listen to every ***king thing and jot down vital operational traffic on the enemy. d. If you are not the enemy, no worries. e. What are your questions? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-09 07:39 |
| #1 New York Slimes leak in 5... 4.... 3... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-02-09 07:36 |