"Is Dianne Feinstein a whistleblower or a traitor?"

[kpete]

The Feinstein Syndrome: “The Fourth Amendment for Me, But Not for Thee”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/03/12

Who knows, soon we might see headlines and cable TV shows asking: "Is Dianne Feinstein a whistleblower or a traitor?"

A truthful answer to that question could not possibly be “whistleblower.” It may already be a historic fact that Senator Feinstein’s speech on March 11, 2014 blew a whistle on CIA surveillance of the Senate intelligence committee, which she chairs. But if that makes her a whistleblower, then Colonel Sanders is a vegetarian evangelist.


"With few exceptions, what bonds those at peaks of power routinely trumps what divides them. It takes a massive and sustained uproar to really fracture the perversity of elite cohesion."


In her blockbuster Tuesday speech on the Senate floor, Feinstein charged that the CIA’s intrusions on her committee’s computers quite possibly “violated the Fourth Amendment.” You know, that’s the precious amendment that Feinstein—more than any other senator—has powerfully treated like dirt, worthy only of sweeping under the congressional rug.

A tidy defender of the NSA’s Orwellian programs, Feinstein went on the attack against Edward Snowden from the outset of his revelations last June. Within days, she denounced his brave whistleblowing as “an act of treason”—a position she has maintained.


MORE:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/03/12

[Blue_Tires]

1. I dunno...Is Feinstein also selectively revealing intelligence ops in foreign countries?

[progressoid]

9. She selectively revealed intelligence ops in the US.

CIA personnel had conducted a “search”—that was John Brennan’s word—of the committee computers at the offsite facility. This search involved not only a search of documents provided to the committee by the CIA, but also a search of the ”stand alone” and “walled-off” committee network drive containing the committee’s own internal work product and communications.

http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=db84e844-01bb-4eb6-b318-31486374a895

Which is interesting since the stated purpose of the CIA is foreign intelligence.

[FreakinDJ]

2. Fuck DiFi - she is only pissed because they did it to her

When she knew full well they were spying on the "Little People" - you and me, she didn't give a shit. No actually she defended the CIA's actions and claimed it was for "Security"

[Baitball Blogger]

6. Totally agree with you.

They probably have a lot of dirt on her that will make her even more unpopular with her constituency. Not to mention, that it probably will cause problems for her husband.

[randome]

3. Phone metadata obtained via legal warrants is not at all the same as the CIA breaking their promise.

It's amateurish to conflate the two.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[BlueCaliDem]

7. Thank you!

It is amateurish and ignorant to try and conflate the two completely different events. I'm disappointed in Common Dreams for having written that piece.

Common Dreams should know better than to act like a Drudge site. They're much too intelligent for that which can only mean that they're trying to pull a fast one on their readers, and that's very disappointing. This coming from a past Common Dreams reader.

[marions ghost]

13. "amateurish and ignorant"

[randome]

16. Apparently Jon Stewart made that conflation last night, too.

I don't agree with him on a few things and that's one of them. Oh, well, to each their own.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Everything is a satellite to some other thing.[/center][/font][hr]

[BlueCaliDem]

20. I'm not really surprised.

As you've pointed out, he's usually right on the money but he's not infallible. He's human and he errs every now and then, and by conflating the two events as if they are the same is one of the times he's erred.

[jsr]

4. Recommend

[Scuba]

5. As Chair of the Intel Committee she let the CIA dicatate the terms of oversight responsibilites ....

.... that the Committee had over the CIA. Now it's come back to bite her. What a surprise.

She really needs to go. That said, I'm glad she went public.

[seveneyes]

8. She is a career politician

And will do whatever it takes to remain in, or elevate her position. Just like about every other politician within that status.

She and many others have a lifestyle that we can only dream about. And all it takes is the ability to convince people to vote you into it, and to keep you there.

[Romulox]

10. Senators don't have any special 4th Amendment rights. Feinstein is a braying hypocrite. nt

[ChisolmTrailDem]

11. She revealed intelligence operations and is therefore a traitor. End of story. nt

[WillyT]

12. K & R !!!

[Ikonoklast]

14. Political Opportunist.

She represents herself, and her own personal agenda.


When she said she would not vote based on the overwhelming wishes of her constituents who wanted nothing to do with war in Syria but the way she thought was best throwing representative democracy out the window, she showed her true colors.

[catchnrelease]

17. That's her M.O.

She did the exact same thing before the invasion of Iraq. She claimed that she had insider intelligence that led her to believe going to war there was necessary, and she knew better than her constituents. I was SO angry at that. And at that time I wasn't aware that her husband is a military contractor and they would stand to profit from an invasion. She's scum as far as I'm concerned.

[closeupready]

15. lol. Exactly.

K&R

[merrily]

18. If no one tries to primary her, I give up on California Democrats.

[Fumesucker]

19. Yes n/t