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Report: NSA Tried To Wiretap Member of Congress
And in one previously undisclosed episode, the N.S.A. tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant, an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said.The agency believed that the congressman, whose identity could not be determined, was in contact -- as part of a Congressional delegation to the Middle East in 2005 or 2006 -- with an extremist who had possible terrorist ties and was already under surveillance, the official said. The agency then sought to eavesdrop on the congressman's conversations, the official said.
The official said the plan was ultimately blocked because of concerns from some intelligence officials about using the N.S.A., without court oversight, to spy on a member of Congress.
Who was this mystery congressman? Which "extremist" was he in contact with? And how does he feel about almost having been spied on by his own government?
Seems worth finding out...

















THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR HILLARY!!!
April 16, 2009 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks old pal, and first outtathebox, as so often! We needed that!! Keep 'em coming!
April 16, 2009 11:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
10-1 it involves some neo-con who thinks speaking to anyone in the middle east besides israel involves treason.
April 16, 2009 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why would anyone think that the unconstitutional wiretapping by the Bush Administration didn't involve the Democratic leaders in Congress?
Faith in the goodness of their hearts and the truthfulness of their statements?
.
April 16, 2009 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. Just wow.
April 16, 2009 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Congressional delegation to the Middle East in 2005 or 2006? I think we can safely rule out all Republicans...
April 16, 2009 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
What are the odds that it's one of the neocons who was buddy-buddy with Ahmed Chalabi after he was accused of giving US secrets to the Iranians?
April 16, 2009 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
None, I say. You never saw that pic of Chalabi sitting behind Bush at the what, State of the Union was it? Iranians, sure, but it wouldn't have been so fact-based. In other words, what you suggest is what YOU OR I might have considered if it was really serious, and *not* what these impassioned people would have gotten up to.
And you know who's got more information about this?
It's all top secret and all, so I'll just hint it to ya: His first names means "penis."
:)
April 16, 2009 11:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
It could have been Hillary. The election was not too far away. If anyone doubts they would use the CIA for partisan means, I have 2 words for them. Valerie Plame.
April 16, 2009 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wait a minute. I thought it was Obama who was pallin' around with terrorists ...?
April 16, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
In an odd way I'm sort of glad. Maybe if some of the egomaniacs in congress see warrant-less wiretapping as a personal issue they'll actually do something about it.
April 16, 2009 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Say it ain't so ...
April 16, 2009 10:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
So it's only a problem when it happens to you? What a load of crap.
April 16, 2009 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can't believe that anyone is surprised by this. The NSA's default position is to wiretap everybody all of the time, including phone calls and emails. They monitor everything, and save whatever their filters catch. I believe that if they don't save it, they don't consider it wiretapping at all.
April 16, 2009 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
The key is that they would never use the info for improper purposes. Ever.
The only exception would be if they had gotten a phone call from the man whose first name means penis, or one of his minions/associates/amigos.
Hope that reassures you! :)
April 16, 2009 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Two words: Kent Island.
April 16, 2009 11:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think we can safely assume it was a liberal Democrat. After all, Darth Cheney was personally running the security apparatus of the US of A during this time.
Leahy? Pelosi?
We'll probably never find out, but you can be sure if this had happened during a Dem administration, the ReThuglicans would have leaked it ASAP under the personal direction of Darth Cheney.
April 16, 2009 11:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
And finally we have a winner! You are correct, M'am! :)
April 16, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think we can safely assume it was a liberal democrat, although it seems more likely. There's a lot more to learn about this, like why the idea was brought up at all, what the NSA wanted, whether there were "other uses" for the information, etc.
April 16, 2009 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
maybe Rohrbacher was secretly hanging with the taliban. again.
April 16, 2009 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
So, perhaps now, Congress will get on the populist bandwagon that says stop warrantless wiretapping Obama, and use the damn FISA courts like their suppose to be used!
April 16, 2009 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
What I always found intriguing was that Kennedy was on the "watch list" and they kept him off that the plane that one time. No one ever asked, "Who else is on that list?" It kind of died.
April 16, 2009 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
This might actually get some action: if you recall the shitstorm that both parties' members of congress put up over the FBI taking documents from LA congressperson Jefferson.
Congress seems to take their rights seriously, at least in so far as it impacts their ability to defend themselves in a criminal investigation.
Go figure.
April 16, 2009 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Could it be Bob Ney? He passed back channel correspondence from Iran offering an Iranian Peace offer. He handed over to Karl Rove who at the time was serving as Bush's chief advisor. It was ignored since the neocons had their eyes set on expanding the war.
Democracy Now did a program on this in 2007.
April 16, 2009 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
A limited number of people went to the middle east in 05/06. Time for TPM researchers to get on the phone and find out which congresspeople believe they may have been the subjects....
April 16, 2009 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd say it's an odds-on bet that the target is Kieth Ellison (MN-05). He's made high-profile visits to Qatar, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and is the only Muslim in congress.
Also, I do hope that the Obama administration is taking care to ensure that the erstwhile fourth branch of government doesn't still have back channel access to the machinery of the three letter agencies. If not I predict that Eliot Spitzer's last name will come back into common parlance, as a verb.
April 16, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Spencer Ackerman (btw a TPM alum for any of you new folks who didn't know that already) has a preliminary list of 27 possibilities:
http://washingtonindependent.com/39013/so-which-member-of-congress-was-wiretapped#more-39013
By the way - there's no longer any mention of this HUGE story on the TPMemo front page. WTF? Governor Good Hair getting carried away with his rhetoric is the big headline now?
April 16, 2009 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK, it's back on the front page now, though Rick Perry still has the big headlines.
April 16, 2009 1:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am less than pleased with Obama's legislative and presidential stances on surveillance, but that photograph of the president for an article on this particular Bush administration 05-06 surveillance abuse makes little sense.
April 16, 2009 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
First paragraph of NYT article (my emphasis):
WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.
April 16, 2009 8:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's easy. .... ONLY ONE? Ha! If you think so, better keep digging.
April 16, 2009 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I suspect a huge story here. But why is there a problem only when it is a Congressman who is being targeted? This garbage has been and is ongoing. Just a block from me, on Third Avenue in downtown Seattle, the FBI or "whomever" has offices directly next to a major telephone switching facility. A simple auger drill job and one could get a cable through the wall and into the switching equipment. Gee, do you think they did that? A telephone company employee I encountered on the sidewalk one day pretty much admitted to me that there was spying occurring there in response to my verbal remarks. And people are freaking about "sexting"? What a farce we are living. Prevent the development of an authoritarian state? Too late: it's already here and it isn't going away and nobody is safe, including are democratically elected representative. Just keep the sheep worrying about the celebrity of the week. That's the ticket!
April 16, 2009 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
"our democratically elected representatives." I'm tired.
April 16, 2009 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Pretty shocking" - ??? Cheap thrills for the naive - or is it delusion.
The article is hardly an example of clarity, but the NSA wasn't set up to follow the law.
April 16, 2009 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
"with an extremist who had possible terrorist ties and was already under surveillance, the official said."
Maybe one of the congressman gave an interview to Oliver North? Wasn't he involved with bringing the Iranians cake?
April 16, 2009 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
This investigation is the reason Pres. Obama didn't need to worry about Libeirman, McCain and Gramm.
Facts:
http://www.davidduke.com/general/war-monger-lord-rothschild-backs-john-mccain_3662.html
Facts:
April 16, 2009 4:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
2005-6 - Iraq, Jordan, Israel Lebanon and Egypt - It's going to be Henry Waxman!
April 16, 2009 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Issa?
April 17, 2009 12:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know, he's a crook, but he's also not exactly a Zionist. He may well have blood relatives in the ranks of some terror organization, who knows?
April 17, 2009 12:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
That car theif is not smart enough to be a terrorist sympathizer.
April 17, 2009 7:26 PM | Reply | Permalink