Pelosi Seeks Review of Briefed Congressmen

[cal04]

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked President Bush's national security adviser Tuesday to review the administration's decision to classify the dates and the names of the Congress members who were briefed on its warrantless surveillance program. Pelosi, D-Calif., requested the information in December, after Bush and his top advisers said repeatedly that dozens of briefings were held for congressional leaders.

Because the information was determined to be classified, Pelosi said the information is locked up in the House Intelligence Committee. Access has been limited to select members of Congress, including Pelosi, who want to be able to talk publicly about general information on the briefings. ``This is not national security information by any definition, and I therefore find the decision to classify it to be inconsistent with classification standards and completely without merit,'' she said in a letter to National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

A spokesman for Hadley declined to comment on a letter he had not seen. Pelosi said that Bush, Vice President Cheney and other officials have repeatedly described the National Security Agency's program publicly, sometimes providing operational details. ``To hold that the information covered by those statements was not classified, but that the identities of those briefed and when those briefings took place is, encourages the belief that the administration makes classification decisions solely for political purposes,'' Pelosi told Hadley. The program run by the ultra-secret NSA monitored the calls and e-mails between someone in the United States and someone overseas, when one party was thought to be linked to al-Qaida.

The Bush administration has condemned the leak of the program's existence and has launched an investigation to find out who was behind it. Privacy and civil rights groups have filed lawsuits and criticized the operations as a gross abuse of presidential power. In a speech in Texas last week, the No. 2 U.S. intelligence official, Gen. Michael Hayden, said al-Qaida and its affiliates still pose the greatest terror threat to the United States and its interests abroad. Hayden, the former NSA Director, said the surveillance program targets that threat, which is why he and others ``have been so visible in the past few months, both explaining the program and defending its lawfulness, effectiveness and appropriateness.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5795207,00.html

[UpInArms]

1. so Hayden can discuss the NSA spying but Pelosi cannot?

:wtf:

[Kagemusha]

2. Welcome to the logical result of the classification system.

Congress signed up for it. This is what Congress gets.

[stillcool]

3. well if Congress signed up...Congress can un-sign...no?...

All of the laws passed in the last 5 years, should be under review...the sooner the better. Even if the desired result is not realized, the full content of Delay's dirty work should be aired. Weren't there bills that were altered after they were voted on?..

[alfredo]

4. It won't matter, King George will do what he wants. No commoner

can make him do otherwise.

[Skip Intro]

5. This is stated as fact, but its not known to be fact, is it -

"The program run by the ultra-secret NSA monitored the calls and e-mails between someone in the United States and someone overseas, when one party was thought to be linked to al-Qaida."

That's not known to be so, is it? Don't we just have the regime's word for that? In fact, there are stories to the contrary.

I realize this is from the BBC, but that sentence should read, at least, that "the bush administration asserts.."

I mean, I'm not a journalist, but I'm careful not to say something is so unless I know it is. Isn't that some kind of standard in journalism - know/verify what you're reporting is fact.

Ok, just had to say that.