White House to Give Senate Panel Surveillance Program Documents

[Flabbergasted]

Source: WaPo

White House to Give Senate Panel Surveillance Program Documents
By Ellen Nakashima and Paul Kane
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The White House agreed yesterday to give Senate intelligence committee members and staff access to internal documents related to its domestic surveillance program in a bid to win Democratic lawmakers' support for the administration's version of an intelligence measure.

The move was meant in part to defuse a months-long clash between Congress and the Bush administration over access to legal memoranda and presidential decisions underpinning the Terrorist Surveillance Program, which allowed the government to eavesdrop without court warrants on communications between people in the United States and abroad when one of the parties is a terrorism-related suspect.

Some of the documents had been demanded by Senate Judiciary Committee members as a condition for considering the administration's nomination of former judge Michael B. Mukasey as the nation's 81st attorney general. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee's chairman, dropped that condition weeks ago but said yesterday that he still wants to see the documents.

Leahy told reporters after a meeting with Mukasey yesterday that he nonetheless expects Mukasey "to be confirmed" after a nomination hearing today, at which Mukasey is to be escorted into the room by Leahy and the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.). Mukasey is to be formally introduced by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

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These documents shouldn't be used as leverage. Leahy should tell Bush so after viewing the documents.

The "administration's version of an intelligence measure" I assume relates to FISA.

[PSPS]

1. "Mukasey is to be escorted into the room by Leahy and the committee's ranking Republican"

Pretty disgusting, isn't it? I mean, where's the fucking crown?

Leave it to Leahy to fold. He's a reliable coward.

And, of course, they will assume that anything bush gives them will be honest, accurate and complete.

[DRoseDARs]

2. Someone managed to get a copy of page 58...

Here it is* with all its gory details just as Sen. Leahy will see it:




What, you were expecting something different? Sen. Leahy does, without fail. Falls for it EV-VER-RY TIME.



*Disclaimer, because the joke will inevitably be lost on some:
No,not really. This really isn't actually a copy of page 58. It is, however, really funny in a depressing why-do-they-keep-falling-for-it sort of way.

[Ian David]

4. Actually, they will give them thousands of pages of documents...

and all of it will be photocopies of mainstream media press clippings about the program.

Again.

[librechik]

6. ha ha--you beat me to that one

totally redacted--at least the ones they didn't "lose."

[Doctor_J]

9. Dang. You beat me to it.

So to you I say

[creeksneakers2]

3. Bush does anything to get immunity for the telecoms

This is the first time in a long time that Democrats held out and got a concession. Big improvement.

[robinlynne]

5. actually, they didn't hold out. they said they would.

[calimary]

7. Why shouldn't they be used as leverage?

EVERY way and ANY way we have to show bush the free ride is over - SHOULD be taken.

[Flabbergasted]

8. I'm saying the appropriate members should be given access to these docs without qualm.

[calimary]

10. Agreed.

If I were Patrick Leahy, however, I'd hang EVERYTHING bush wants FROM HERE UNTIL THE BITTER END - on getting WHATEVER paperwork I wanted. And if they arrive at my desk with page after page redacted, absolutely everything, from mucasey onward, wold come to a screeching halt. It would be: george, either I get those papers or you don't get SQUAT.

SOMEBODY has to say no to this prick. SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE. His mama didn't do it. His daddy didn't do it. His wife obviously never has. Neither has his girlfriend contradicta, or ANYBODY ELSE. Which is why he's so poorly behaved even up to this late date in his miserable, arrogant, petty, spoiled-brat life. Somehow or other, he's always gotten his way. Probably by throwing tantrums and valuable crockery.