Democrats ready for unofficial wiretap hearings Friday

[cal04]

House Democrats, led by liberal Michigan Congressmen John Conyers, will hold unofficial hearings on the legality of President Bush's warantless wiretap programs Friday, and have added additional witnesses and congressmembers to their retinue, RAW STORY can report.

Democrats are holding the hearings, they say, because a request for hearings from the Republican-led Judiciary Committee have fallen on deaf ears. In the Senate, Republican Judiciary chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has said he will hold formal hearings to examine the ramifications of the taps.

A spokesman for the Republican-led Judiciary Committee declined to comment; he said that because the House was in recess nothing was current planned. At least seven Democratic members are scheduled to attend the hearings: Reps. John Conyers, Jr., Bobby Scott, Chris Van Hollen, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, Jerrold Nadler and Maurice Hinchey.

Among the more prominent witnesses include Bruce Fein, an Associate Deputy Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, and James Bamford, an intelligence expert who has revealed details about the NSA spying project.
Also attending: George Washington Law School Professor Jonathan Turley, the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Director Caroline Frederickson, Director of the Center for National Security Studies Kate Martin, and the Truth Project's Richard Hersh.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Democrats_ready_for_unofficial_wiretap_hearings_0118.html

[Pam-Moby]

1. Good job John Conyers.

We should start emailing this event to MSM.

edit to add I Recommend

[mousie]

2. Many MANY thanks to John Conyers!!!!

[yknot]

3. Too bad Conyers isn't chairing the OFFICIAL hearings

instead of the ass-covering-hack-appointment we can expect from Bush.

[Marleyb]

4. Will it be on Cspan?

I read that it was at 11:00 est but will there be a way to watch it?

[helderheid]

5. please sign this MoveOn petition before they meet:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x175680

and please keep kicked!

[mom cat]

6. John Conyers is secretly one of a set of identical sextuplets!

Well, do you have any other explanation hoe he does more work than the rest of the House combined?

John Conyers for Majority Leader!

[wordpix]

7. Agree. Conyers and Hinchey are really doing their jobs while many Dems

just react (or NOT) to repugs. We need more of these "activist" Congressmen!

[DirtyDawg]

8. I Hope They're Better Prepared...

...than their inept counterparts were in the Alito hearings. Do some damn research to understand the issue...don't grandstand with some pontificated crap before you ask your questions...be prepared to ask follow-up questions to paint the bastards into a corner. Maybe you even need to let somebody smarter than you are handle the 'cross-examination'. All we need is another fumbling, mumbling exercise to give the repigs an 'out' and the media something to poke fun at, and it'll all have been just more demo whining and nothing is accomplished.

[Imagevision]

9. Bin Laden tape will put the ka-bosh to hearings -GOP to side-step

[angryxyouth]

10. I wonder if they (REPUGS) will force this hearing to be in the basement.

I'm still pissed off from the DSM Hearings. Evidently the basement broom closet is the only place to hear the truth on Capital hill. Thank you John Conyers.:patriot:

[Hippo_Tron]

11. Here's our to do list for 2006

1) Win back the House and make Conyers Judiciary Committee Chair

2) Give Jim Sensenbrenner a swift kick in the nuts