From March 2012:

PATRIOT Act Being Used to Keep Super Duper Government Spy Operation Top Secret

Three cheers for Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado -- they've tried warning We the People and their fellow elected representatives about vitally important issues with the way the Government uses the USA PATRIOT Act. Unfortunately, the very law prevents them from disclosing what would cause us to be stunned.



The New York Times reported on Thursday:

Gee. I sure hope Sen. Wyden and Sen. Udall succeed in letting us know what the hell is going on with the USA PATRIOT Act spying on Americans thing is all about. After all, it is a sad time in America when Senators are afraid of being whistleblowers.



The two Senators were talking about this latest outrage way back when. DUers, of course, were aware. But the rest of the nation, not so much.

Now why would Capitalism's Invisible Army want to keep We the People in the dark? For one thing, besides keeping tabs on everyone's comings and goings, could be for personal gain, say via inside trading?



One thing is for certain: Secret government makes it really hard to follow the money. It does make obvious who's getting rich off it, though.

try to dismiss what is now known about the hi-jacking of our government agencies, the real threat to democracy that spying on the Senate actually is, simply for political reasons.

This is how democracies die, or would if we didn't have a few courageous Democrats, like Wyden and Udall to keep plugging away at the cancer, and Whistle Blowers like Snowden to expose the corruption.

I imagine both of them feel more than vindicated since the Snowden and Anonymous revelations. As they should.

Either way, it's an existential problem for the USA because secret government is un-democratic.

No Oversight means No Accountability and No Responsibility. Those who wield its powers are unaccountable. Those who profit from its actions are unknown.

Want to see what 62 years of secret government have got us? Look around -- permanent wars, rich banks and broke people.

Reich is what I see, Sir.

Fugitive Nazi's who built a paedophile paradise in the sun: The Chilean colony founded by a one-eyed soldier who turned 230 Germans into slaves (Ben Judah 2-20-14 Daily Mail)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564343/Fugitive-Nazis-built-paedophile-paradise-sun.html

on everything and everybody.

for saying and thinking unapproved things. It can't happen here.

For example: The 9/11 Futures Profiteers or

The Sons of the Gestapo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Palo_Verde,_Arizona_derailment

1.) No public oversight.

2.) No public accountability.

3.) Secret Enemies.

4.) Secret Privilege.

Chris Hedges found something Hannah Arendt once observed that bears repeating until the cockroaches are all gone:

A GESTAPO, Harry Truman observed. If they're not NAZI, they're sure fascistic cockroaches.

and lack of prosecutions of enforcers.

I was informed of this recently while championing Udall's activism. I think it was someone just trying to score internet points because I voted for Udall (and at the time didn't know he was Third Way), just wanted to let anyone else know.

I still support him on this particularly topic and many others, actually, and have a hard time figuring out why he is Third Way and where I would disagree with him.

None of them have EVER been clean.

By Patrick Martin
WSWS.org (World Socialist Web Site), 7 March 2014

EXCERPT...

The press reports suggest three levels of criminality on the part of the CIA: the torture program itself, whose authors include President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other top officials of the Bush administration; the suppression of the Panetta report, a cover-up carried out under Brennan and the Obama administration; and the illegal spying on Senate staffers, also carried out under Brennan and Obama.

The response of the corporate-controlled American media has been, for the most part, to ignore the affair and obscure its significance. This is not because, as the New York Times coverage suggests, the details are complicated and the issues murky. On the contrary, while the maneuvers of the CIA in this matter are complex, the illegal and unconstitutional character of the agency’s actions is evident and obvious.

Senate Democrats have done their best to muddy the waters as well. This applies both to the open and unabashed defenders of every crime by the intelligence apparatus, like Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the “critics” on the panel, like Udall and Wyden.

Udall sent a cryptic letter to President Obama Tuesday, which made only the vaguest reference to the illegal spying. He wrote, “As you are aware, the C.I.A. has recently taken unprecedented action against the committee in relation to the internal C.I.A. review, and I find these actions to be incredibly troubling for the committee’s oversight responsibilities and for our democracy.”
Given that this was the first official communication from Congress to the White House on the CIA spying on the Senate, Udall’s “as you are aware” suggests knowledge that Obama was previously informed about the surveillance by the CIA itself. This would make the White House directly complicit in the constitutional violation.

SNIP...

These revelations pose the question: If this is what the CIA does to its congressional watchdogs (in reality lapdogs), what is it doing to those it actually targets as enemies, both abroad and especially at home? That is a question that only can be answered through independent political action by the working class, and all those genuinely concerned with the defense of democratic rights.

SOURCE: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/03/07/spyi-m07.html

Notice the the tense in that quote ... "As you are aware ..." ... that is PRESENT tense. "Are aware". Not "Were aware".

So, let's assume the CIA did "take action" against the congress (that point is in dispute, and that's indicated much lower in the article naturally, but let's say its true), all this quote says is that the President is CURRENTLY aware of this. Its does not state or even suggest that he KNEW about it as it was happening, in the past.

If that's what Udall was saying, the quote would be referring to knowledge the President had in the past.

I'm surprised that the folks at the Guardian didn't recognize this.

Well, not really. Not nearly as scandalous headline without this mistake. Fewer eyeballs.

Who runs CIA? The president, supposedly.

apparatus not to parse phrasing to exonerate President Obama of blame.

When Obama is long gone from office we will be left holding the bag so the most important thing is to clean up all of this shit and we elected this President to help us to do this because we cannot actually have self Governance with this level of distortion of democracy for authoritarian and corporate aims.

We will figure out when the President knew what in route to unraveling this mess and that will tell the tale. We may find Obama to be a knight in shining armor that came in and put down an steel clad foot or that he was in the dark as anyone but it was happening on his watch or that he has supported the actions.

We do not know but logic does not dictate that use of the present tense (and the much more typical use of a common phrase) excludes prior knowledge. That isn't meant to be an accusation at all, I truly have no idea what President Obama knew and when he knew it but your argument here is weak and loses track of the big picture from the jump.

The surveillance state is an existential threat to the republic and civilian, democratic government.

Its trying to suggest the President knew the CIA was spying on Congress, even though that's not what the quote says.

If the article wants to discuss the scary police state, fine ... but it should stick to the facts, not try to mislead people.

with Udall's letter. Not only does it spin the quote, but also it misrepresents the intent of the letter.

Udall Challenges White House to Support 'Fullest Possible Declassification' of Intelligence Committee's Torture Study

Letter: http://www.scribd.com/doc/210597656/Udall-Challenges-White-House-to-Support-Fullest-Possible-Declassification-of-Intelligence-Committee-s-Torture-Study

Press release: http://www.markudall.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4081

Sid

Silencing Whistle-Blowers Obama Style

By Peter Van Buren, TomDispatch
This piece first appeared at TomDispatch.

The Obama administration has just opened a new front in its ongoing war on whistleblowers. It’s taking its case against one man, former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Air Marshal Robert MacLean, all the way to the Supreme Court. So hold on, because we’re going back down the rabbit hole with the Most Transparent Administration ever.

Despite all the talk by Washington insiders about how whistleblowers like Edward Snowden should work through the system rather than bring their concerns directly into the public sphere, MacLean is living proof of the hell of trying to do so. Through the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice (DOJ) wants to use MacLean’s case to further limit what kinds of information can qualify for statutory whistleblowing protections. If the DOJ gets its way, only information that the government thinks is appropriate—a contradiction in terms when it comes to whistleblowing—could be revealed. Such a restriction would gut the legal protections of the Whistleblower Protection Act and have a chilling effect on future acts of conscience.

Having lost its case against MacLean in the lower courts, the DOJ is seeking to win in front of the Supreme Court. If heard by the Supremes—and there’s no guarantee of that—this would represent that body’s first federal whistleblower case of the post-9/11 era. And if it were to rule for the government, even more information about an out-of-control executive branch will disappear under the dark umbrella of “national security.”

On the other hand, should the court rule against the government, or simply turn down the case, whistleblowers like MacLean will secure a little more protection than they’ve had so far in the Obama years. Either way, an important message will be sent at a moment when revelations of government wrongdoing have moved from the status of obscure issue to front-page news.

The issues in the MacLean case—who is entitled to whistleblower protection, what use can be made of retroactive classification to hide previously unclassified information, how many informal classification categories the government can create bureaucratically, and what role the Constitution and the Supreme Court have in all this—are arcane and complex. But stay with me. Understanding the depths to which the government is willing to sink to punish one man who blew the whistle tells us the world about Washington these days and, as they say, the devil is in the details.

CONTINUED with LINKS, etc...

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/silencing_whistleblowers_obama-style_20140306

It successfully outraged those already predisposed to outrage. Some of the responses on this thread are examples of the consequences.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

I'm pretty certain most don't fall for this type of tactic.... how does it help?

The quote does not accuse Obama of prior knowledge, as the Guardian claimed. I also agree with you that this is very serious and should be investigated until the plot is traced backed to its originators, including Obama if he is involved.

"As you saw it in the newspaper along with everyone else?"

The Guardian usually does good work, but they don't have to stretch meaning and jump to unfounded conclusions when the story is already strong enough to stand on it's own...

Or, they could have done the old-school journalism shit and asked Udall directly if he meant Obama knew and/or directed the CIA to spy on the committee...

To say nothing of the reality that Obama doesn't need to spy on ANY senate committee when he can call in any senator(s) he has a good relationship with, chat him up and gauge the 'temperature' of the committee...

What a shitty, cheap clickbait of a headline...The Guardian is supposed to be better than this...

For Obama's head are impervious to logic and don't exhibit reading comprehension or critical thinking skills.

Their response: "it's got electrolytes!"

sock boy!

on regular citizens...

What a mass of corruption we face.

The watchers at FBI and evidently NSA and now CIA get to spy on We the People's representatives and We the People. Meanwhile, we have no idea what they do with the information they gather, other than profit from it through wars without end.



And, of course, apart from McClatchy and the occasional publication with integrity here or there, Corporate McPravda looks the other way.

Tech company “transparency reports” reveal massive NSA spying

By Thomas Gaist
5 February 2014

Major US telecommunications companies released figures this week showing that the National Security Agency has requested data relating to tens of thousands of customer accounts in just the first half of last year. The release of the “transparency reports” was part of an agreement reached with the Obama administration allowing limited disclosures of information about the massive police-state spying apparatus.

The accounts spied on were targeted as part of the NSA’s PRISM surveillance program, which has been in operation since 2007. Using PRISM, the spy agency obtains orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to require telecommunications companies to turn over information. PRISM came to the attention of the public as a result of documents provided by NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Slides released by Snowden show that PRISM collects email, chat (voice and video), video, photos, stored data, file transfers, video conference data, notifications of target activity and online social networking details from a range of providers including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL, and Apple.

Yahoo said it turned over information on between 30,000 and 30,999 accounts between January and June 2013. Facebook reported 5,000-5,999 requests. Microsoft reported 15,000 to 15,999, and Google reported 9,000-9,999. The figures released by the company show a steady increase over the past several years.

These figures cover only a small aspect of the convoluted network of spy programs. The information released is subject to a six-month delay imposed by the government on all disclosures of data requests.

SNIP...

For their part, the tech companies view surveillance as a public relations problem. They have never sought an end to the surveillance, and in fact cooperate closely with the state to facilitate bulk data collection. They are sowing the illusion that measures are being implemented to protect privacy and transparency, while continuing to facilitate spying operations against the population.

CONTINUED...

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/02/05/nsad-f05.html

Oh. I get it! Transparency is part of Opposite Day ritual.

"Now they won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore as the Arch Evil Great Defiler of the Constitution!"

JCS set up a spy operation on, not in, the Oval Office.

E Howard Hunt pretended to work for Liddy.

Compared to these people, Nixon was a saint.

too much to repost here. don't want to hijack this thread.. incredible just incredible.

isn't it? The best remedy is more sunlight!

This is the reason things are FUBAR.





Obama rejected calls to prosecute Bush administration officials for their role in the torture program, and the Justice Department dropped all charges against lower-ranking CIA agents in 2012.

The press reports suggest three levels of criminality on the part of the CIA: the torture program itself, whose authors include President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other top officials of the Bush administration; the suppression of the Panetta report, a cover-up carried out under Brennan and the Obama administration; and the illegal spying on Senate staffers, also carried out under Brennan and Obama.

The response of the corporate-controlled American media has been, for the most part, to ignore the affair and obscure its significance. This is not because, as the New York Times coverage suggests, the details are complicated and the issues murky. On the contrary, while the maneuvers of the CIA in this matter are complex, the illegal and unconstitutional character of the agency’s actions is evident and obvious.

I prefer to be broken with the ugly truth then fall in love with the beautiful lies.

you will learn to love that 2+2=5.

wether it is the rep cheering them on or a dem ( hopefully) being drug along, we seem to get same result

I am sure all the msm coverage of this illegal cia spying on the senate will create a back lash.......o never mind there is no coverage

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024620177

...Obama forgave the war criminals, banksters, warmongers and traitors who lied America into war.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/92829/how_should_the_next_president_deal_with_the_bush_white_house%27s_crimes?page=entire

Then there's his ides for the "cognitive infiltration" of conspiracy theorist groups...

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/01/15/sunstein

Sunstein also was on the short list for Supreme Court.

Obama taps "cognitive infiltrator" Cass Sunstein for Committee to create "trust" in NSA
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023512796

The US government's online campaigns of disinformation, manipulation, and smear.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024560097

said impeachment was off the table.

Our great Democratic Leadership let evil walk free.

Funny how it's always the Democrats who have to compromise and accept the conservative positions.

during the "continuity of governance" meeting he had with Bush Co. just before taking office.

no evidence, just speculation. it would explain a lot.

Sounds serious to me.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/04/us-usa-udall-missing-idUSBRE96302K20130704

Add that tragic story and the headline from last Independence Day into this, or dismiss it. I know the Udall's haven't dismissed it. And then consider what we, the people have seen for more than 50 years when it comes to "neutralizing" so much of the opposition to the US national security criminals.


There are no coincidences here people. None.

K&R

where we're now suggesting that President Obama is making family members of probing senators "disappear"?

Do I have that right? Because that seems exactly like what you're saying...If you have any new insights on that case unknown to the general public I'd be happy to hear them (did Udall ever say there was foul play involved?) -- But that is not the kind of thing to throw out lightly, even in the "accusing-but-not-making-a-direct-accusation" -way...

I laugh at a lot of people on DU.

I think they're here just to provide humor.

President Obama, that is your viewpoint which I never intended. Since I am, in fact, a survivor of a capital offense (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law) that involves the US national security community protecting a US network utilized by a murderer, human trafficker, rapist and torturer and have, in fact, been seeking justice for many years and did, in fact follow all the rules of law and justice in seeking a remedy to this-well, over the years Blue_Tires I've shared this with other DUer's in the real world. That's DU today.

That's who I am. I've learned over the decades that there are no coincidences when it comes to the shadow government-which is a stark reality.

Maybe like the evil Congressman/Vice President Frank Underwood - President Obama himself threw Udall's brother off a mountain.

IMO, of course, the Senate report on CIA torture must be released to the public

At issue here is some pissing match between the Senate and the CIA: (1) the Senate claiming that the CIA inappropriately withheld information to thwart oversight, as evidenced by an internal document (related to the matters under Senate investigation) that the CIA apparently failed to provide to Senate investigators but that Senate investigators somehow obtained anyway; (2) the CIA claiming that the Senate investigators inappropriately obtained the document; and (3) additional counter-claiming by various persons that the CIA investigation, into exactly how Senate investigators obtained the document, led the CIA to search computers provided by the CIA for use by Senate investigators

Various of the claims have apparently been referred to the DoJ and FBI to determine whether Senate investigators or CIA personnel engaged in activity contrary to law

But according to some media reports, the CIA network available to the Senate investigators was an isolated network deliberately established by the CIA for the purpose of the Senate investigation: if that is accurate, it is very difficult to understand how Senate investigators could have inappropriately used the network to obtain the document -- or how the document could possibly have been available to Senate investigators through the network, unless the CIA itself had made the document available on the network. We should therefore expect the DoJ and FBI inquiries into the matter to conclude, after some days of breathless hype, without any finding of wrongdoing by Senate investigators

Who exactly claims -- that the CIA improperly searched CIA computers made available by the CIA for use by Senate investigators for the purpose of the Senate investigation -- is at present unclear. In the article linked by the OP, Levin merely says "as alleged by the media." The actual Wyden letter is extremely vague, and one cannot easily discern exactly what the letter means: it nowhere references any spying, and it certainly does not say anything like "Obama knew CIA secretly monitored intelligence committee"

This leads us straight into the question: What exactly is the point of this perhaps pointless pissing match? A natural guess might be: some folk are engineering this as a distraction from the important question -- which is, How can we get the Senate report dislodged and into the public eye?

......the Senate Intelligence committee members and staffers could see those 6.2 M pages.

That must be kept in mind when considering the merit of the papers CIA is trying to hide.

How much reporting have you seen on the issue of teh secret government spying on our elected government?

I'll tell you what I've seen in Detroit: Near Zero.

Oh. And how much have you posted on it, uponit7771?

where they may. Even if it's on his own doorstep.

"The buck stops here" Harry Truman.

But then what secrets should Congress have? Shouldn't Congress be transparent, too?

We the People are. And we don't get to see any transparency when it comes to the national security state.

The fact they spy on Congress means they consider themselves above the law, starting with the Constitution. That's not just interesting, that's treason.

That so many Americans miss that point says a lot about media and education today.

So I would think that would become the concern, if transparency is the true issue.

Their authenticity in my eyes continues to diminish over the years with statements like that. Just remember that Octa...if you have nothing to hide, why so worried? Sounds all to familiar I bet to people that live in a police state.

I think that has something to do with that Big Tent thingy.

the proponents of transparency would certainly not allow Congress to have anything to hide.

This is what happens when you lack objectivity.

Amazing.

that President Obama's power has been usurped and perhaps not only his? Under Hoover (FBI) the presidents' power was rather restricted, and this is far bigger than just the FBI. The NSA and CIA may just work nicely in a hidden way for the corporatists as well as the banksters. If so, nobody should believe that our government is the real source of power. IMO

Uttered at a press conference in which not a single of the callow, cowed press corpse saw fit to ask a follow-up. Then the third generation warmonger laughs.

I remember Cindy Sheehan tried to bring it to our nation's attention.

As for his Poppy: Bush Sr told the FBI he was in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

PS: A hearty welcome to DU, sadoldgirl!

http://ccrjustice.org/torture-team-cards

I've added other Torture Team cards to my collection since the change in administrations, have you?

Analysis of the Ukraine Crisis, and More (Lauren Harper UNREDACTED 3-6 The National Security Archive)
http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/frinformsum-362014-battle-rages-between-cia-and-senate-intel-committee-over-torture-report-conflicting-intelligence-analysis-of-the-ukraine-crisis-and-more

Seriously, Guardian? Either Udall said in plain English that Obama had prior knowledge, or you just stretched the context of a story to fit your agenda....So which is it?

The Senate-CIA Blowup Threatens a Constitutional Crisis

The allegations of CIA snooping on congressional investigators isn't just a scandal—the whole premise of secret government is in question.

—By David Corn
MotherJones | Tue Mar. 11, 2014 10:01 AM GMT

This morning, on C-SPAN, the foundation of the national security state exploded.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chair of the Senate intelligence committee, took to the Senate floor and accused the CIA of spying on committee investigators tasked with probing the agency's past use of harsh interrogation techniques (a.k.a. torture) and detention. Feinstein was responding to recent media stories reporting that the CIA had accessed computers used by intelligence committee staffers working on the committee's investigation. The computers were set up by the CIA in a locked room in a secure facility separate from its headquarters, and CIA documents relevant to the inquiry were placed on these computers for the Senate investigators. But, it turns out, the Senate sleuths had also uncovered an internal CIA memo reviewing the interrogation program that had not been turned over by the agency. This document was far more critical of the interrogation program than the CIA's official rebuttal to a still-classified, 6,300-page Senate intelligence committee report that slams it, and the CIA wanted to find out how the Senate investigators had gotten their mitts on this damaging memo.

The CIA's infiltration of the Senate's torture probe was a possible constitutional violation and perhaps a criminal one, too. The agency's inspector general and the Justice Department have begun inquiries. And as the story recently broke, CIA sources—no names, please—told reporters that the real issue was whether the Senate investigators had hacked the CIA to obtain the internal review. Readers of the few newspaper stories on all this did not have to peer too far between the lines to discern a classic Washington battle was under way between Langley and Capitol Hill.

Then Feinstein went nuclear. For more than a half hour this morning, she gave what she called a "full accounting." She began by noting her reluctance to go public:

Let me say up front that I come to the Senate floor reluctantly. Since January 15, 2014, when I was informed of the CIA search of this committee’s network, I've been trying to resolve this dispute in a discreet and respectful way. I have not commented in response to media requests for additional information on this matter; however, the increasing amount of inaccurate information circulating now cannot be allowed to stand unanswered.

In other words, she felt that the spies were leaking false information to nail her and her staffers. So she was upping the ante by taking this dispute out of the shadows.

CONTINUED...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/03/dianne-feinstein-cia-intelligence-committee-constitutional-crisis

the CIA snooping, which is what the Gaurdian has been claiming (with no proof whatsoever, I might add)...

So final answer: The "Obama knew..." is bullshit and the Guardian needs to clarify or retract the story...

Last edited Tue Mar 18, 2014, 10:22 AM - Edit history (1)

I suppose the CIA can thank the Malaysian pilots for that.

Updated w/nice related piece:

The US Media and the CIA’s Spying on Congress

is actually the target of it?

Jan. 1, 2009:

Heads-up, Obama!

...although, so far, and going by how Don Siegelman is in prison, George Bush walks free, and who got paid since the Bailout, he seems to be getting along more with the Them.

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN
MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU, 03.11.14

Senate leaders Tuesday were concerned but careful about their next steps after Sen. Dianne Feinstein told the Senate the CIA may have violated constitutional principles by monitoring her committee’s computers.

“I believe in separation of powers. I support Senator Feinstein unequivocally, and I am disappointed that the CIA is apparently unrepentant for what I understand they did,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, told reporters.

Reid rejected, at least for now, the suggestion by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that an independent investigation might be needed.

“We’re about 14 steps away from that,” Reid said. He was circumspect about what’s next.

CONTINUED...

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/11/3988277/reid-disappointed-cia-is-apparently.html

What GESTAPO?

Psi Upsilon brothers at Yale (1960) John Negroponte and William "Bucky" H.T. Bush-that's about the time Goss was recruited into The Agency working in the wetworks of what was then called the Directorate of Operations (now National Clandestine Services) mainly out of Miami.

The BFEE loves Porter, who took crimes against the people to post-9/11 heights never envisioned by his predecessors. Friendly Fascism owes so much to Herr Marshall GOSS.

Porter J. Goss (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_Goss

Goss Source Watch page
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Porter_J._Goss

justice-for those of US that want accountability, for those of US that no longer respond to the programming of "national security" liars nor the hypocrites of so called leadership in DC.

Kick.

Torturing Democracy (Documents)
http://www.torturingdemocracy.org/documents

Roll call: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00076

Obama is in it up to his eyeballs.

For some reason, I have a hard time believing Obama would go along with such illegal activity.

Especially Democratic members.

The CIA did it on their own. The article does not state when the spying occurred, or who was president when it occurred. It also says nothing about Obama having a hand in the spying, but only that he found out about it at some point. As others have pointed out, the headline to the article is grossly misleading.

Like father
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wisner

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKwisner.htm

Like son
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Frank_Wisner

Wisner was there. Now his son is here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x330933

Always in the middle of all things of value.

Ambassador Frank G. Wisner joins ERGO's advisory board (6-11-13 PR Newswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ambassador-frank-g-wisner-joins-ergos-advisory-board-211002551.html

President Obama's "special envoy" for what???

If you can't print money, resource extraction is the next best thing.


Ergo is an intelligence and advisory firm specializing in dynamic markets and geopolitical analysis. Across the globe, Ergo leverages thousands of proprietary on-the-ground sources and in-country teams to provide customized solutions and subscription products for our clients. Leading investment houses, Fortune 500 companies, law firms, and governments turn to Ergo for intelligence, political and economic risk analysis, market opportunities, competitive assessments, and strategy consulting. Harvard Business Review hailed Ergo as "breaking from industry orthodoxy" with a "radically new model" of consulting.

Kick.

and all others in the legal profession of the US national security community (i.e. we don't torture, etc) must know that the very first profession taken over by the Nazi Party as it rose to power was, in fact, the legal profession.

Law, Justice, and the Holocaust (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007887

The Rise of Legal Positivism in Germany: A Prelude to Nazi Arbitrariness? (dissertation paper by Kenny Yang published by Western Australian Jurist Vol. 3 2012 pdf)
http://www.murdoch.edu.au/School-of-Law/_document/WA-jurist-documents/WAJ_Vol3_2012_Yang---The-Rise-of-Legal-Positivism.pdf

I spent some time today checking out the rather frightening implications of what Cass Sunstein (Mr. Samantha Power) advocates in the " 'Conspiracy Theories' and government infiltration" section of his Wikipedia page.
Cass Sunstein (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Sunstein

The second profession ideologically controlled by the Nazi Party was medicine where US ideas were made concrete under the law.

The Horrifying American Roots of Nazi Eugenics (Edwin Black excerpt History News Network Sept. 2003)
http://hnn.us/article/1796

Stop your LIES to and betrayal of we, the people.

But they were lightning quick to publish a "correction" to THIS story, weren't they:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/19/us-tech-giants-knew-nsa-data-collection-rajesh-de


Sad to see the Guardian toss out their journalistic ethics whenever they're inconvenient....

Somewhere else.

when he says, "we no longer have a functioning democracy." This is just more evidence of it.

to read what all the good du'ers are thinking about this double plus bad article!

being sick of having OUR RIGHTS as CITIZENS of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA deprived.

Let's see what the other committees and OMB say. I think the CIA will loose this round and will release a 'report', some mid-level overseer(s) will retire early, and Sen. Udall can put a notch in that smokin' gun.