Wiretapping plan bypassed National Security Council: Report

[Judi Lynn]

2nd JAN 15:35 hrs IST
Wiretapping plan bypassed National Security Council: Report
- -
New York: The Bush administration plan for wiretapping without warrants was so sensitive that the "Lawyers' Group," an organisation of government attorneys in the National Security Council, was bypassed. Instead, the legal vetting was given to Alberto Gonzales, the then White House counsel 'Time' magazine quoted administration officials as saying.

Senator Tom Daschle, who was then the Senate Democratic majority leader, told the magazine that he, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Dick Gephardt, then House minority leader, were briefed in early 2002 by Vice President Dick Cheney. There was a second briefing in 2004.

"A couple of us expressed our concerns," Daschle says. "But the information we were given was more technical and less substantive. We were told we were being informed and not consulted."

Even though the administration emphasises that congressional leaders were briefed about the new programme from the start, some object that they were told about it under ground rules that made it impossible for them to mount any opposition, the magazine says.
(snip/...)

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[bemildred]

1. "We were told we were being informed and not consulted"

And of course, they swallowed it whole.

[KittyWampus]

14. Typically, you forgot to read or consider the following statement-

"some object that they were told about it under ground rules that made it impossible for them to mount any opposition"

But then, the Mediawhore conveniently put that second bit as a vague, indirect reference without actual quotes from the Democrats. And once again you take their bait. All so you can make a snide comment about Democrats even though they were told the information was being given on a confidential basis.

[Bob3]

2. So the National Security Council was left out of the loop?

You wonder what else they didn't tell them - or Ms. Rice who was the National Security Adviser at the time. Yeah she's had real big role in the white House.

[thefool_wa]

6. Come on...

Condi is such a puppet of this admin half the time you can see the strings. She never looks comfortable with anything she has to say and always has this look on her face like "I can't believe I'm saying this sh*t"

She wasn't consulted because she didn't have her own opinion to express, so her consent was implicit since they would have told her to comply. That and plausible deniability, she probably would have folded under the guilt eventually (or if they needed to scapegoat her).

[cap]

8. the sgt schultz approach wont work for condi...

stupidity is not an excuse for not doing your job. She knew about the wiretaps... she never bothered with the legal review.

[thefool_wa]

7. <deleted by poster>

on edit: accidental double post of same comments.

[cantstandbush]

3. This IS high crimes and misdomenors! Gonzales must step down.

He is a disgrace to the Hispanic community. I believe he will turn on his own people in a heart beat to suck up to the Bushbots.

[Journeyman]

9. I don't understand how you see Gonzales' crimes. . .

as directed at, or reflective of, any one group of people. BushCo crimes are an affront to the nation and have shown no limitations.

[seafan]

4. "They're going to lean on Specter very hard not to hold hearings,"

"They're going to lean on Specter very hard not to hold hearings," says a Republican official. Bush has warned that any public hearings on programs would simply tip off terrorists and invite them to adjust their tactics, and he says, "This is a war."

snip



This is a war, all right. It's war between Bush's radical extremists and the United States of America.

[Supersedeas]

11. Specter will become the eye of the storm--the Public must not know!!

[emad]

5. So DID Bush snoop on Kerry and his wife or not during the 2004

WH election and before?

Just one reason for asking: in the UK there have been a number of official requests under the Freedom of Information Act about correspondence between Poodle and Kerry and minutes of official meetings between Poodle and Kerry (January and February 2005.

As I understand it one request from the press concerns whether UK security/intelligence was aware of any covert US snooping of Sen Kerry and his wife as a result of 'an official mix-up' of intelligence.

[jazzjunkysue]

10. These are 3rd grade tactics and excuses: "I did it, but, everyone else did

too." Honestly, why don't they just claim their dog ate it.

This proves they make all their nasty moves with deliberation and intent to be able to hem and haw and wiggle out from it, either way.

"We told them, but, I guess we forgot to explain the implications...Well, why are you being so picky? We're not perfect, you know."

Let's come up with a name for this pre-emptive weasling.

[TNOE]

12. Yeah

and remember - they've known about this for a year - so after a year of strategizing - this is all they've got.

[wordpix2]

13. bottom line: impeachable offense. Let's get on with it.