Amanpour wiretapped and what it means to Clark, Kerry, Clinton

[trillian]

What it means to John Kerry, Wesley Clark, and Bill Clinton if Bush wiretapped CNN's Christiane Amanpour
by John in DC - 1/04/2006 03:23:00 PM

As reported below, NBC's Andrea Mitchell - based on some information she clearly hasn't yet made public - is asking if Bush specifically wiretapped CNN's Christiane Amanpour. The fact that the question was asked so publicly and so specifically means that Mitchell knows something.

Why would Bush do this? Because, as I reported a few weeks ago, journalists have some of the best contacts out there and it's not unusual for journalists to talk to both sides of the story, or in this case, the good guys and the "evil doers." What a better, if not illegal, way to find the terrorists and their associates?

But before you say "yeah, go for it," consider the implications of tapping Christiane Amanpour's phones:

1. Such a wiretap would likely include her home, office, and cell phones, and email correspondence, at the very least.

2. That means anyone Christiane has conversed with in the past four years, at least by phone or email, could have had their conversation taped by the US government.

3. That also means that anyone who uses any of Christiane's telephones or computers (work or home) could also have had their conversation bugged.

4. This includes Christiane's husband, former Clinton administration senior official Jamie Rubin, who was spokesman for the State Department.

5. Jamie Rubin was also chief foreign policy adviser to General Wesley Clark's presidential campaign, and then worked as a senior national security adviser to John Kerry's presidential campaign.

6. Did Jamie Rubin ever use his home phone, his wife's work phone, his wife's cell phone, her home computer or her work computer to communicate with John Kerry or Wesley Clark? If so, those conversations would have been bugged if Bush was tapping Amanpour.

7. Did Jamie Rubin ever in the past four years communicate with any elected officials in Washington, DC - any Senators or members of the US House? Any senior members of the Democratic party?

8. Has Rubin spoken with Bill Clinton, his former boss, in the past 4 years?

Now you understand how potentially broad a violation of privacy the Bush doctrine on illegal domestic spying really is. Everyone who's anyone is a degree or two of separation away from a terrorist.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/what-it-means-to-john-kerry-wesley.html

[NativeTexan]

1. You are SO right on the mark!!

And to think, for some reason, he wouldn't even go to a JUDGE. These are the reasons why......

[Rebellious Republican]

2. Very astute observation trillian, great post, nominated! N/T

[ellenfl]

3. 6 degrees of separation. this should be really good.

christianne will surely go ballistic over this. always liked her. she could take the * cabal DOWN!

ellen fl

[trillian]

4. From your fingertips to.............

I keep waiting for the thing that brings them down. Every time I think....this is the one.....they weazel out of it. I'm sick of it.

[Doctor_J]

7. SHe'll be taken down first

All of the corporate media will blacklist her, she'll be reduced to a blog that no one reads. Every honoarable person that the BFEE come in contact with gets kicked to the metaphorical Yukon.

[ellenfl]

19. i think she's too international and respected. you are right, tho'.

they will try.

ellen fl

[Eurobabe]

22. she spoke at daughter #1's graduation from G'town in 2004

and she was VERY critical of Bu$hCo and the damage they have done around the world. no small wonder if they wiretapped her. Fuckers.

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. What an idiot Bush is. Think about it. He just gave his enemies

a great weapon to destroy him with.

[A Simple Game]

36. A great weapon doesn't matter.

They always seem to point it at themselves anyway.

[greiner3]

47. Good point;

But it would take a court order to get the list of who bushco is bugging. No matter who wins, it would be taken to the supremes. I wonder how they will vote!

[EFerrari]

5. Maybe I just have * fatigue, because I'm assuming that Kerry,

Dean, and others were wiretapped.

[Old and In the Way]

6. Great post......the fact that MSNBC has purged that question, confirms it.

This is exactly where this is going. 2004 elections, Plamegate, Nigergate, Abramoffgate.....this administration's personal security is the compelling reason for these illegal wiretaps. Regular NSA can monitor 10,000 or so criminal-terrorists. The threat to Bush is not Al Qaeda, it's a Democratic majority in 2007.

The Republican Syndicate is in trouble....wire tapping Amanpour might be the final straw. This has got to get some traction.

[lovuian]

8. Amanpour has connections to Bush's enemies but none of them

are terrorists!!!

[Doctor_J]

10. Are you stupid?

Anyone who doesn't lick *'s boots is a terrorist.

[IronLionZion]

33. Most Americans are terrorists

Since Bush's approval rating is like 30%, the mainstream are the oppressed minority. The vast majority of Americans are extremists who are way out of the mainstream.

war is peace
ignorance is strength
some are more equal than others

Love, honor, and obey your fuerer and stop posting on this treasonous message board.

:sarcasm:

[Joey Liberal]

38. They think all DU'rs are terrorists

The right wing bastards think we are all terrorists.

[lisa58]

9. What about us...

...what about everyone that supported "the other side" in the last election. How do we know we weren't wire-tapped?

[trillian]

13. Oh, we probably are......

.....they're working with the telecom companies. I assume all Dems and those against the Iraq War are being targeted.

I'm living in the Soviet Union

[Lena inRI]

55. Oh yeah. . .here's what happened just today 1/5/06. . .

a Verison workman was under a rain canopy from 8 am to 6 pm supposedly fixing telecom lines right in front of my home. . .so long that I couldn't help think paranoid thoughts because ya see, for Wesley Clark in 2004:
~I hosted a Clark campaign party
~my husband and I became his RI delegates
Ya think with all the recent exposure of * wiretapping U.S. citizens that VERISON is worried their tapping for * WILL IMPLICATE THEM. . .BIG RUSH TO UN-TAP PEOPLE'S LINES like mine????

ANYBODY OUT THERE SEEN SOME MARATHON TELECOM WORK GOING ON NEAR THEIR HOUSE???

1984 + 22 = 2006 BIG BROTHER HAS ARRIVED LATE but arrived he has!


:grr:

[catmother]

14. we don't know. n/t

[Hotler]

20. If you're on DU you're being watched at times.

You can't tell me they the neo-cons don't watch us any less than they watch MoveOn.org

[closeupready]

52. Wasn't there some famous bushbot who publicly snarked at DU last year?

So, given the board's visibility, it would be naive to think that your belief is without merit.

And to be fair, it would be irresponsible not to at least monitor some stuff.

Wiretapping is over-the-line, though.

[BadgerKid]

29. Irony of non-terrorists thinking they're being watched

Do you act differently or not? Do you try harder to conceal your plans lest your competitor get wind of them? Does this flag you as a potential terrorist?

This smells of * being absolutely paranoid -- no wonder he's looking tired.

[jillan]

11. Okay - I'm putting on my tin foil hat here....

I can't help but think that all of this is somehow related to the election.
Wiretapping Kerry's campaign managers?? You don't suppose that even they could be that stupid, do you??
To borrow a word Kerry recently coined, it all sounds a little "Nixonian" to me:tinfoilhat:

[trillian]

15. Ed Schultz thinks so n/t

[jillan]

17. What did Big Eddie say about this? n/t

[trillian]

21. When it first came out...........

.....he expressed his belief that the Kerry campaign might have been compromise by the NSA......otherwise why not use FISA. It will be interesting to hear his take on the new revelations about Amanpour

[wrate]

40. A little Nixonian? This is Nixonian to the nth power!! n/t

[SOS]

41. Things were very bad back then

Bush and his father want to return to unfettered domestic espionage:

"Between 1960 and 1974, the FBI conducted half a million investigations of so-called subversives, without a single conviction, and maintained files on well over a million Americans. The FBI tapped phones, opened mail, planted bugs, and burglarized homes and offices. At least 26,000 individuals were at one point catalogued on an FBI list of persons to be rounded up in the event of a “national emergency.”
Meanwhile, the CIA began spying domestically. The Agency planted informants of its own within the United States, especially on college campuses. Between 1953 and 1973, they opened and photographed nearly a quarter of a million first-class letters, producing an index of nearly 1.5 million names. Under something called Operation CHAOS, separate files were created on approximately 7,200 Americans and over 100 domestic groups. In 1964, the CIA even created a secret arm called the Domestic Operations Division, the very name of which flew in the face of its legal charter. Back then, there were no “communications problems” between the two agencies."

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0601,mondo1,71442,6.html

[robbedvoter]

12. Makes me think of this exchange between Clark& Judy Woof-Woof

My views on Iraq were very clear. You've heard them expressed on this show many times, Judy. And you yourself know very well how I felt about Iraq.

That's the reason I was attacked all through the war by guys like Dick Cheney for being an armchair general, because they knew I was against what they were doing. And they were right. And now we see why everybody should have been against it.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/12/ip.00.html

[trillian]

16. Maybe he suspected at the time......

....but doubt if he knew for sure.

[xultar]

18. Remember how a lot of us were wondering why Clark was totally ignored?

OMFG!!!

[NCarolinawoman]

24. I've always assumed that Wes was/perhaps still is being wiretapped.

He probably always knew, too. He makes calls to the Middle East and travels there all the time.

Does anybody remember when he presented his tax plan in the primaries----big tax breaks for the poor and middles class (no taxes, actually), and a huge tax increase on the very wealthy? He shouted out, "Karl Rove, are you listening?!!" That takes on a whole new meaning for me now and kind of makes me laugh. Clark of all people would know.

God knows who they're listening to now: Clark, Dean, Feingold, Reid, Gore, Kerry----all the outspoken ones.

[Totally Committed]

46. "Karl Rove, are you listening?!!"

I remember that! I'll bet Wes knows/knew, and I'll bet it continues to this day.

Horrendous!

TC

[CoffeeCat]

25. I find it most revealing that Andrea Mitchell would say this out loud...

Andrea Mitchell is married to conservative Alan Greenspan, correct? He's a well-known Republican and Bush supporter. Andrea often takes the Republican side when discussing issues. She's sure not a Dem apologist, that's for sure.

For the wife of one of the most famous and powerful Republicans--to reveal that Bush wiretapped a reporter-----WOW. That didn't just accidentally slip out. These power brokers have been talking A LOT, among themselves.

No wonder Bush looks so exhausted. He knows he's going down, very soon.

I also noticed that a few articles about the wiretapping included MANY sources--some defined as "senior White House officials" then "other officials" then "government officials. It's obvious
that many are turning on this White House.

The house of cards is falling and it's not due to the Democrats. It's due to the true conservatives who do not dabble in PNAC bs.

Pass the popcorn, give me the jumbo box of Junior mints and make my soda an extra large. It's gonna be a long, drawn-out drama, people!!!!

[Burried News]

26. Looks like Greenies Medal of Freedom wasn't enough to shut

his mamma up. Good - the Aspens are turning.

Maybe they have figured out that if the Busheviks aren't stopped now, the people who know where the bodies are burried, have the greatest risk.

The subtleties of the game are impressive - nice catch.

[rman]

27. Amanpour was not playing ball with the establishment,

makes perfect sense if they wiretapped her.

[erpowers]

28. We Got It

In the days following the revealing that Bush was wiretapping people including American citizens multiple people in this board, including myself said that most likely Bush did not get a warrant for the spying in that he was actually spying on his political enemies. Now it seems that we got it right.

[KoKo]

31. Most everything we here have thought...even the "tinfoilhat" has come true

or will eventually be revealed, I think. Whatever one can imagine about these criminals isn't beyond one's most wild imagination, it seems.

[trillian]

30. Josh Marshall wonders.....

.....In their response NBC confirms that they not only were but are in fact continuing to investigate whether Amanpour was in fact a target of one of these 'wiretaps'.

Now, that really puts this into altogether different territory.

You wouldn't just pull this Amanpour story out of your hat (this is a family website). To be even remotely credible, a claim like that would have to come from within the government.

Wouldn't it? I know I'm speculating. But think about it: who would be able to make such a claim and have enough credibility to make a major news organization take the suggestion seriously?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007365.php

[trillian]

32. On the other hand.......

Joe in DC from AmericaBlog sez:

Just did a google...not one story in the MSM on the controversy surrounding Andrea Mitchell's question about Christian Amanpour and NBC's effort to cover it up.

What gives with that? Are they all afraid of being spied on by the Bush Administration? Maybe the nicknames Bush gives the press are really their NSA code names.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/thursday-morning-open-thread.html

[Seedersandleechers]

34. Is there any end to this nightmare?

[sendero]

35. Regardless....

.... of the "degrees of separation" angle, Amanpour, if she was surveilled, was because she is a POLITICAL ENEMY. This is the EXACT REASON that the constitution requires judicial oversight of this sort of activity.

You can bet, if Amanpour was under surveillance, many other purely political enemies were also, and that is a high crime if I ever saw one.

[Tin Man]

37. Yessir... smells like grounds for impeachment to me!

[elehhhhna]

39. Why'dja think they call them "ROVE-ing" wiretaps, huh?

[Neil Lisst]

42. And I've already written a cartoon about it!!

It will be out next week.

We took a break and start the new stuff Monday.

I was already writing one about government domestic spying, so I just added her to it, just to poke the administration in the eye more.

[snowbear]

43. Leon Panetta was just on Big Eddie Schultz.... and Bush in deep shit....

---Regarding the illegal wiretapping issue.

He also did an incredible job of explaining WHY Clinton didn't even come close to doing anything like this ----- despite what rightwing radio, blogs and news are reporting.

And wow.. Christiane Amanpour... How low can the Bushies go..

They are sooooo going down.

[ClintonTyree]

44. So this is why Rove is such a "genius"..........

it doesn't take a genius to listen in on other people's conversations and find out what other people's campaign strategies are. All it takes is an evil, cheating, crooked porcine little man with a bug planted on someone's phone.
This makes bush's rise to power more understandable. On his own he's a complete failure, he always has been. But through wiretaps (don't forget, Poppy was the head of the CIA!) it becomes infinitely easier to rise within the political ranks.
georgie is a fraud along with his "brain" and entire administration.
These guys are bottom feeders, the lowest of the low. Now, they must GO! :mad:

[NCarolinawoman]

50. Good point: Rove is not a genius...he's a snoop! n/t

[greiner3]

45. If that's the case, then I don't see why it would stop there;

Why not ANY phone, computer or electronic device that she MAY have had access to would be bugged. That would include her husband's or possibly anybody at CNN. Damn, the list would be huge.

[McCamy Taylor]

48. Oh, my! What a scoop if it's true!

[David Zephyr]

49. K&R

Thanks for the post, trillian. :thumbsup:

[snowbear]

51. Conyers + 22 Dems asked Bush to come clean today per Eddie...

Said that Congressman Conyers sent Bush a letter asking him to come clean on the Christiane Amanpour wiretapping situation.

I'm sure they'll be chomping at the bit to respond to Conyers and the Democrats who are demanding answers..

Yeah.. right.

[number6]

53. just as I thot

this wire tap crap, is for spying on political opponents
and those in the media who are not Bu$h compliant ...

[trillian]

54. Update, Via America Blog

Govt. says they're not spying in Amanpour.........yeah right </snark>

CNN covers Amanpour spy story
by John in DC - 1/05/2006 07:11:00 PM

Ok, CNN just did the story. Here's the quick summary:

Jacki "Blog Chick" Schechner did a good summary of how the story broke online. Then national security correspondent David Ensor gave his report. And it was, uh, a bit surreal.

A senior intelligence official has denied that Christiane Amanpour or any CNN journalists are or have been "the target" of any NSA wiretapping (any CNN journalists? how about any journalists period? strange qualification for the official to make). Ok. Not that they'd admit it to you if they were spying on you, but even if true, what if Amanpour or other journalists just happened to have been overheard?

Well, CNN reports that the administration told them today that "by law" NSA has to destroy any wiretaps that inadvertently pick up conversations with Americans or people who work for US companies "by law" it is required to be erased.

Ok, stop right there.

By law? You mean the same anti-wiretapping law that George Bush just broke and just told us he doesn't have to abide by because we're at war and he's commander in chief? Come on guys, I can't believe no one at CNN cracked a smile when they heard this. And please don't present this as definitive proof without noting the fact that the administration says it can break the law and many think they have broken it already. Not to mention, this totally contradicts what the president told us about taping conversations of 500+ American who have supposedly spoken with Al Qaeda affiliates - he's already admitted that Americans can be taped.

So you mean if Christiane spoke to a source who was an Al Qaeda affiliate the administration would NOT tape the call and if they did accidentally, they'd delete it? Give me a break. And in any case, Bush already admitted to tapping Americans so this defense is already moot. Unfortunately, CNN didn't mention that fact either.

And finally, while I'm glad CNN dug into this, asking a "senior intelligence official" to look into this - then having him get back to you and say "nope, nothing there, we didn't break the law" isn't really very conclusive evidence, don't you think? Did you expect him to get back to you and say "yes, we are tapping journalists?"

One of Atrios' readers published a rush transcript that reads correct to me:

ENSOR: Well, John, I'm told considerable manhours today went into making sure the answer to CNN would be accurate. A senior US intelligence official tells use that our colleague Christiane Amanpour has never been targetted by the National Security Agency, and nor has any other CNN journalist. Now, the NSA as you know is the eavesdropping intelligence agency, the US government's big ear, and from time to time, the official says, wiretaps overseas or other intercepts turn out to include Americans, or what they call 'US persons', which includes people who works for US companies, it does so inadvertently. But if the NSA finds it has tape and transcript of such a person, by law, it is required to be immediately erased, deleted, gotten rid of. US intelligence officials rarely comment on who they may or may not have collected information about, but because of all the web blogosphere attention this was getting today, this senior official was willing to look into it for us, and to be quite clear in his denial -- frankly, I get the impression the NSA is as puzzled by Andrea Mitchell's question, and NBC's decision to put it out on the web, as we were.

Another Atrios reader summed up my thoughts exactly:

I want to have David Ensor shilling for me if I'm ever pulled over for speeding.

"But officer, my sources tell me drivers from time to time go too fast, but by law must immediately slow down. You don't need to see his identification."

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/cnn-covers-amanpour-spy-story.html

[Gloria]

56. I saw Syriana before this broke...and even then, I commented to

my friend that George Clooney might want to be careful. Both Syriana and Good Night, Good Luck, particularly the latter, would mark him...

[Maru Kitteh]

57. Running to a corner to puke now.

If this goes nowhere it will be official, democracy is cold and dead in it's grave.