The telecom companies would have happily come and testified to Congress, but Dick wouldn't let them.

[kpete]

Dick versus Scottish Haggis: The Grudge Match
By: emptywheel Tuesday December 18, 2007 11:46 am

Arlen "Scottish Haggis" Specter took the opportunity yesterday to enter a letter exchange he had with Dick Cheney into the Congressional Record. Here's that exchange (see below the letters for my analysis; h/t for Selise to alerting me the transcripts were up):

COPY OF LETTERS HERE:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/18/dick-versus-scottish-haggis-the-grudge-match/#more-1555

Scottish Haggis accuses Dick of several things:

........................

He ignores the laws regarding informing Congress and says simply that "inter-brach comity" requires that only the Intelligence Committees get to exercise any oversight.

He states simply that the Administration doesn't need any legislative sanction for his warrantless wiretap program (it's as if Obi Ben Kenobe said, "these aren't the legislative droids you're looking for," and Haggis was appropriately swayed).

And oh, by the way, if Haggis doesn't like Dick's interpretation of the Constitution, then tough, because Dick is the Fourth Branch and that gives him superior wisdom.
Like I said. Dick's an asshole.

Two more details I highlighted that appear important, given the current debate on whether or not the telecoms had adequate reason to believe the warrantless wiretap program is legal.

The telecom companies would have happily come and testified to Congress, but Dick wouldn't let them.

Dick says that the warrantless wiretap program was run "with approval as to legality of Presidential authorizations every 45 days or so by senior Government attorneys."

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/18/dick-versus-scottish-haggis-the-grudge-match/#more-1555