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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Saturday, July 08, 2006

What's next?

International warrantless phone tapping, sneak and peak searches, national security letters, warrantless domestic call logging, and very possibly warrantless internet surveillance.

So, to what new, as yet unknown, dubiously legal intelligence program is Peter Hoekstra referring?
WASHINGTON, July 8 — In a sharply worded letter to President Bush in May, an important Congressional ally charged that the administration might have violated the law by failing to inform Congress of some secret intelligence programs and risked losing Republican support on national security matters.....

But Mr. Hoekstra, who was briefed on and supported the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program and the Treasury Department's tracking of international banking transactions, clearly was referring to programs that have not been publicly revealed.....

The letter appears to have resulted at least in part from the White House's decision, made early in May, to name Gen. Michael V. Hayden to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, with Stephen R. Kappes as his deputy. The letter was sent the day of General Hayden's confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.....

(Representative Heather A. Wilson, (R- NM)) She would not discuss any programs on which the committee had not been briefed, but she said that in the Bush administration, "there's a presumption that if they don't tell anybody, a problem may get better or it will solve itself."

Curious? I sure am. Here's a PDF version of the letter. (The key bit is in the second to last paragraph.)
"I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed.... If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies."


Question: The letter was written May 18. Why is this coming out now? Are we about to hear about another program, and Hoekstra is trying to get out front? Is somebody trying to chum the waters for reporters? Why now?

4 Comments:

  • When do we stop calling you "democracy"?

    I wonder how the crown will look.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:59 AM  

  • I think it's news that intelligence agencies have been monitoring members of Congress. If Hoekstra was okay with all the other forms of government spying, the only thing left is the kind of spying that affects him.Remember Hastert's defense of Jefferson?

    By Blogger Lew Scannon, at 10:20 AM  

  • It could just be election year posturing as well. A GOP candidate in a blue state trying to distance himself from an unpopular president. May be much ado about nothing but it would be nice to see the GOP faithful finally turn to the light.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:33 PM  

  • Romunov, Saddam called Iraq a democracy. Kim Jong Il calls North Korea a democracy. So, I think no matter what happens we'll still call ourselves a democracy.When y'all stop is up to you.

    I don't know, Lew. That's possible. There was a bit of him on one of the Sunday shows, and his contention was that he had been contacted by "whistleblowers" and had asked the admin about the programs by codename.

    And, Libby, that's a good guess. There's also been some talk about a power struggle between congress and the president. Porter Goss was one of them, Negroponte is sheer executive.

    I just don't know.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 6:27 PM  

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