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A game of chicken on Capitol Hill

February 18, 2006 05:41 AM / Capitol Hillbillies .

By DALE McFEATTERS

Under White House pressure, the Senate Intelligence Committee flinched and backed away from an investigation of the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program.

In return, the committee got not much from the White House other than a vague commitment to provide greater disclosure and to cooperate on legislation affecting the wiretapping, which the White House insists isn't needed in any case.

The administration also played hardball with the Senate Judiciary Committee, rejecting a request by chairman Arlen Specter to have former attorney general John Ashcroft and his former deputy, James Comey, testify about the origins of the secret program, apparently because their testimony might reveal a deep division with the Justice Department about its legality.

The House Intelligence Committee, however, seems to be made of sterner stuff and is pressing ahead with an oversight investigation into the National Security Agency's eavesdropping on the overseas calls and e-mails of U.S. residents.

Congress keeps shying away from the underlying issue in the case _ whether the president can ignore the laws it passes because of the post-9/11 resolution authorizing the use of force and his war-fighting powers under the Constitution. And Congress also doesn't seem to have a great deal of appetite for insuring that Americans' fundamental civil liberties, especially the right to privacy, are respected.

There is an applicable law here, the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, that set up a special court to issue secret warrants for espionage and terrorism wiretaps. The Bush administration elected to skip the warrant process. The public may finally get a look at the administration's reasoning for that after a federal judge ordered the Justice Department to turn over its internal memos and legal opinions on the program. But that's thanks to a suit filed by civil liberties groups and not anything Congress did.

Congress is debating rewriting FISA both to streamline it and state explicitly that it does apply to NSA's eavesdropping. It is also debating exempting the NSA program from FISA altogether. But unless the lawmakers are willing to forcefully exercise their oversight function, and insist on the administration's compliance and disclosure, it won't much matter what Congress does.

(Contact Dale McFeatters at McFeattersD(at)SHNS.com)
© Copyright 2006 by Capitol Hill Blue

Comments

Why are we still surprised when crooks do crooked things?

Posted by Keith at February 18, 2006 08:05 AM

Hey dumb people. It's all a part of the dog and pony show to keep your attention away from the fact THE WAR ON TERRORISM is all bullshit. A war on terrorism is like declaring a war on a mine field, and the government is going around trying to stamp out the mines, and they keep blowing up in their faces.

The government is NEVER going to fix itself. You should have figured that out by now. They want the monkey to have total power to keep you and me in line so they don't have to. Everyone of them in congress have a butter and gravy job all picked out for themselves, and none of us are part of the picture, other than we will do all the grunt work just like it is now.

Face it. You are too stupid not to be led around by the monkey and his organ grinder. You prove that every time you buy into their endless bullshit. It's all faked-fools. None of it is real.

And as for the government, the biggest concern they have is that you might wake up before you reach the concentration camp. But even if you did wake up, you still have to overcome being as dumb as mud.

The WOODCARVER

Posted by woodcarver at February 18, 2006 08:52 AM

The war on terrorism is a bunch of baloney. If the administration is really interested in protecting us from terrorists why haven't they placed our military on the Mexican and Canadian borders? Isn't it easier to keep terrorists out of America than to try to find them after they have sneaked into the country?

Posted by Alex at February 18, 2006 11:06 AM

If Congress would improve minimum wages--maybe make them a living wage eventually--America would not have monumental problems keeping illegals out of the country.

As it is, those on minimum wage must still live in shelters to survive. Will Republicans raise minimum wages? Hell yes--when they start caring about the average American citizen, which means NEVER! Republicans will always care more about the rich and zealously protect them. At the same time they will vociferously proclaim how evil and inefficient government is in protecting and providing for ordinary American citizens, but they will use this same government to engage in endless war and lavish largesse on the wealthy!

Of course, the Yahoos just eat up this mierda (Spanish for what comes out of the bull's anus)! When Yahoos are questioned about socialism, they denounce it as creeping! However, just as soon as a plague threatens or a hurrican destroys, they immediately scream for government help! The contradiction is humorously ironical.

Posted by Frank Walter at February 18, 2006 12:48 PM

Congress has willingly been castrated. Balance of powers exist as an ideal; as law, it has been couped.

Posted by Amanda Lang at February 18, 2006 02:37 PM

The Senate stands up and Congress backs down,or do they take turns? Issues are very complex, yet we must follow the rule of law. Or is the issue the process of changing the law to fit the situation? Could it truely be time for a valid third party?

Posted by Michael Treder at February 18, 2006 06:24 PM

Is there any credibility or reliability within the Democratic party? Why did the committee members interrogating the AG not walk out, when he was NOT asked to be sworn in? and the same with the Intelligence committee Democrats last week....and a new bill by a Democrat to essentially preclude third parties?...The two parties have been in bed together for 25 years and can't seem to dissolve the bond that has given birth to globalization-multinational corporate power.

Posted by RJ Cavanagh at February 19, 2006 09:02 AM

The American government is nothing more than a fraudulent disguise that supports the house of prostitutes!

This is the plain and simple truth!

People need to see, . . . Our ancestral history authors, are NOT to be compared to, our current writers of history. What once was, is NO MORE! These folks well deserve and badly need prison time. Not only for their sake, but for the sake of the world!

Posted by opposing the liars at February 19, 2006 11:39 AM

If our Legislators admit that the searches and seizures of our private emails and phone conversations have not resulted in a single Terrorist conviction (which 3 years of news seems to indicate), wouldn't you conclude that our Senators and Congressmen are either 1) incompetent, or 2) don't support our Constitution's separation-of-powers obligations?

Posted by Remember When Honesty was Popular? at February 19, 2006 09:31 PM

Single-bullet-theory Kennedy-assassination Arlen Spector says Mommy Ashcroft and Deputy Comey have “testimony” about "legality." Since when is Single Bullet Spector interested in more than obfuscation? Spin away, Mr. Spector.

Posted by Remember when Honesty was Normal? at February 19, 2006 09:49 PM

Am I just going crazy, or did the subject of whether or not Bush's domestic spying program is illegal and indictable, get forgotten already? They are up there in Congress cowering before the great Oz, afraid to look behind the curtain and bust the faker. So instead, they are trying to figure out how to make the crime fit into the current law, instead of prosecuting the crime with the current law. This is truly Orwellian, and I know Mr. Orwell is flip-flopping in his grave.

Posted by Randell Cole at February 20, 2006 08:32 AM

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