Congressional Probe of NSA Spying Is in Doubt

[ProSense]

Congressional Probe of NSA Spying Is in Doubt

White House Sways Some GOP Lawmakers

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 15, 2006; Page A03

Congress appeared ready to launch an investigation into the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program last week, but an all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed the effort and may kill it, key Republican and Democratic sources said yesterday.

The Senate intelligence committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a Democratic-sponsored motion to start an inquiry into the recently revealed program in which the National Security Agency eavesdrops on an undisclosed number of phone calls and e-mails involving U.S. residents without obtaining warrants from a secret court. Two committee Democrats said the panel -- made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats -- was clearly leaning in favor of the motion last week but now is closely divided and possibly inclined against it.

They attributed the shift to last week's closed briefings given by top administration officials to the full House and Senate intelligence committees, and to private appeals to wavering GOP senators by officials, including Vice President Cheney. "It's been a full-court press," said a top Senate Republican aide who asked to speak only on background -- as did several others for this story -- because of the classified nature of the intelligence committees' work.

Lawmakers cite senators such as Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) to illustrate the administration's success in cooling congressional zeal for an investigation. On Dec. 20, she was among two Republicans and two Democrats who signed a letter expressing "our profound concern about recent revelations that the United States Government may have engaged in domestic electronic surveillance without appropriate legal authority." The letter urged the Senate's intelligence and judiciary committees to "jointly undertake an inquiry into the facts and law surrounding these allegations."

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/14/AR2006021401812.html?nav=rss_politics

[flyarm]

1. "f" those son of a bitches..if the dems bend on this i am done with the

dem party..my freaking phones have been tapped for almost 2 years..and fuck them

fuck them i am the base...i am the dem..i will not tolerate any more..i will register independant..

and i will never work for the dem party again..why bother..we will have no constitution left..we will have a totally trashed bill of rights..

if our constitution means so little to those we have worked for and fought for ..and we are not worth fighting and our constitution is not worth fighting for and if the dems bend to this weasly little twirp..well then i am done..

fly

[iconocrastic]

4. Just curious, how do you know your phones were tapped?

They don't still make that little "click" like in the old movies, do they?

[flyarm]

7. well there is a very low swish that goes on...like a tape running..

and yes there are very low clicks..

and I have 2 homes..and a cell..i hear it in both homes..when i came for the winter to my winter home..I had 3 free days of no clicks..then the clicks began..just like they are in my northern home...and it is always on my cell...

my friends and dems people i work with now talk about mentrual flow when the clicks begin..

i am not the only one who hears it!
and certain friends /dems it happens more than others!

fly

[Wisconsin Larry]

10. NSA may have another BIGGER wiretap program Lets call the flip floppers

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060214-053955-9494r
says "A former NSA employee said Tuesday there is another ongoing top-secret surveillance program that might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights."

The Senate Intelligence Committee votes tomorrow on the NSA Spying Investigation. Let's call the Republican flip floppers Olympia Snowe, Maine and Chuck Hagel, Nebraska and of course all the Dems and tell they have to Investigate Now.

Full committee list is at http://intelligence.senate.gov/members.htm

[Mind_your_head]

2. Zeal? We the People have Zeal.....

If our elected representatives don't have the 'zeal' to probe this MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE, then those representatives must be replaced with people who haven't been 'worn down' by YEARS of living the 'Washington Life'.

Senators, thank you for your service, but if you don't probe this issue...you must be replaced.

Do we constituents need to start calling, faxing, and writing AGAIN, just to get y'all to do your job??????? Sheesh!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: <------ zeal

[ProSense]

3. Warner considers change in spying law (to make the crime legal)

Warner considers change in spying law

The senator says he isn't certain whether the program is legal

BY PETER HARDIN
TIMES-DISPATCH WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Feb 15, 2006


WASHINGTON -- Sen. John W. Warner, voicing concern that a number of citizens think President Bush acted above the law with his eavesdropping program, is exploring whether to change federal law.


Snip...

While some citizens might not agree with the president, they want to be able to respect him and have no misconceptions about his compliance with the law, Warner said yesterday.

In addition, there's honest disagreement among "a respectable group of lawyers and others involved in judicial matters" over the Bush administration's legal authority for conducting warrantless surveillance inside the country, and that debate might not end, Warner said.

"I'm concerned about our intelligence system and its ability to continue to serve this nation under these clouds that seem to be floating by," he said. He said he hasn't reached a final judgment on the eavesdropping's legal authority.



More....
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834102614&path=!news&s=1045855934842

[ProSense]

8. Warner and Republicans desperate to cover Bush's butt. n/t

[Kablooie]

5. Blackmail is a powerful tool.

[kentuck]

6. Democrats will have to win in November in order to get to bottom....

of this story. Repubs are chickenshit. They aren't going to investigate their hero - no matter what kind of crimes he commits or lies that he tells. They are going to try and bullshit and flim flam their way thru November elections and hold control of both Houses of Congress. But, it we are ever going to get the truth, it will have to be by Democrats that win in November.

[OneBlueSky]

9. anyone see the PBS program about the Baton Rouge bus boycott . . .

last night? . . . it preceded Montgomery by a year, and is an example of creative nonviolent action in response to abuses of power by those in control . . . (basically, they hit 'em where it hurts -- in this case, in the pocketbook . . . and it worked) . . .

we need to find ways to "hit 'em where it hurts" on a national level -- in the pocketbook or otherwise . . . some kind of mass action that people can take when our "leaders" fail us like this . . . something that will really make them feel it . . .

don't have any specific ideas yet, but it's getting way past time for some serious action of one kind or another . . . we can't just keep letting them get away with this shit day in and day out . . . we want the truth, and we want it NOW! . . .

[mmonk]

11. Of course.

The Senate is not made up of many Patriots.