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White House to Give House Panels Access to Wiretapping Docs
Ending months of resistance, the White House has agreed to give House members access to secret documents about its warrantless wiretapping program, a congressional official said Thursday.The Bush administration is trying to convince the House to protect from civil lawsuits the telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on Americans without the approval of a court. Congress created the court 30 years ago to oversee such activities.
House Intelligence and Judiciary committee members and staff will begin reading the documents at the White House Thursday, said an aide to Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.
They asked for the documents last May and finally got them now as the debate over the surveillance rages and will probably culminate this weekend. Nice.
Remember that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asked for the full Senate to have access to such documents last year, a request that seems to have been ignored.
Josh
Zachary
Don't give an inch, Dems! That info should be handed over anyway! To allow for oversight.
Rule of Law must prevail.
January 24, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
The main motivation for wire taps is always for snooping on political foes. They just wanted to listen in on Clinton and other people they obsess about.
Absolute power means absolute isolation and absolute paranoia ( examples : Stalin, The Shah ) ...
Therefore one supposes that a striving for absolute power would cause a high level of isolation and paranoia ...
January 24, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
And yet. And YET! our good Dem "Leader" Harry appears on the verge of once again knuckling under to the unitary executive (dare I say kissing his ring) before fainting away from the apparent pressure. This kind of leadership is worse than no leadership at all.
January 24, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
"They asked for the documents last May and finally got them now as the debate over the surveillance rages and will probably culminate this weekend."
And only after it looks like Reid grew half a pair and half a spine and is going to make the GOP fight and argue for its teleco giveaway via a real filibuster.
Screw the WH.
January 24, 2008 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
The documents will be very carefully cherry-picked and or even forged to make the case. There is no book this gang won't cook. They would no more hand over an accurate record than they would give up Dick Cheney's emails. Either will implicate them in high crimes.
January 24, 2008 1:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes. Yes. There is no accountability now and there won't be any after WHATEVER bill is passed. Stonewall, obfuscate, refuse, lie, and then when it finally comes down to it...invoke executive privilege. Dance, dance, dance. Same old, same old, same old.
January 24, 2008 1:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Should read "...ending months of resistance, the White House *SAID* it has agreed to give..."
If their lips are moving, they are lying. When will someone, anyone, be held accountable in this administration?
January 24, 2008 1:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fax your senators to tell them to hold firm against immunity. It's much harder to ignore a piece of paper than an email, or even a phone call.
Most, if not all, of the senators have their fax numbers on their home pages.
And yesterday, TPM reader Bruce Sims posted a list of some relevant fax numbers, as well as the text for the fax he sent out about immunity under "Dodd Renews Threat to Filibuster Bill with Telecom Immunity."
Here are the numbers he provided:
Feinstein Fax: (202) 228-3954
Boxer Fax: (415) 956-6701
Reid Fax: (202) 224-7327
Pelosi Fax (202) 225-8259
Davis Fax: (202) 225-2948
Hagel Fax: (202) 224-5213
Snowe Fax: (202) 224-1946
Dodd Fax: (202) 224-1083
Feingold Fax: (202) 224-2725
Obama Fax: (202) 228-4260
Clinton Fax: (202) 228-0282
Edwards Fax: (919) 967-3644
Bruce said readers can feel free to crib from his text. I kept my faxes short, though, insisting that my senators hold firm against telecom immunity and to "do what you must know is right, and give your constituents some hope that this country can recover from the last seven years of presidential abuses of power."
Solidarity, brothers and sisters.
January 24, 2008 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
This administration Big Lied the nation into unleashing war. What else does anyone need know?
Their word is bankrupt. They are without honor. Congressional democrats who credit them otherwise are either utterly corrupt themselves, or absolute fools.
January 24, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
The FISA debate is going on in the Senate now. I just heard Harry Reid announce the Minority can offer ammendments. When were the Democrats permitted that curtesy when in the Minority? NEVER. They were told to take it or leave it. The Democrats' determination to maintain comity at all costs IS costing. They are supposed to be in charge! BE IN CHARGE!! Make them stand in the well to filibuister! Deny when you can and get the Bill you want. Let the President veto it and continue sending the same bill back even though it isn't veto proof. Get some balls!
January 24, 2008 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
They've had such a nice long time to scrub the docs by now, haven't they? Any "emails" to go along with them?
January 24, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Give an inch? My guess is their prepared to give up the Constitution so they can protect their own asses from legal consequences. That is, BushCo has the dirt on several key Senators and House reps and is using that to advantage. They played with the Devil and now the Devil is making them pay.
January 24, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
When will someone file a R.I.C.O criminal complaint against
BushCo AND Congress on the Iraq War>
January 24, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
As long as Reid remains the Democratic leader in the Senate, the dems will not only give an inch, they will lay down and die.
When will the Democratic party wake up and ditch disgraceful "leaders" like Reid and Pelosi.
Dodd for Senate Majority Leader. Now.
January 24, 2008 6:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are we going to hear some results of this?
Or is Congress getting fed information in secret that it cannot discuss with counsel, as was done with the FISA updates?
Give us a sign, Congress. White smoke, black smoke, no smoke.
- Do you need help?
- Was there something else you needed?
- Did they require you to not discuss the information with others?
- Did they compel secrecy, even commenting about the secrecy terms?
- Why are you getting information in secret that, in effect, leaves you gagged?
When Congress gets information in secret, and agrees to be gagged, it's not a separate branch of government: It's on the receiving end of mushroom-food-guano.
January 31, 2008 1:29 AM | Reply | Permalink