White House Working to Avoid Wiretap Probe

February 20, 2006

At two key moments in recent days, White House officials contacted congressional leaders just ahead of intelligence committee meetings that could have stirred demands for a deeper review of the administration's warrantless-surveillance program, according to House and Senate sources.

In both cases, the administration was spared the outcome it most feared, and it won praise in some circles for showing more openness to congressional oversight.

But the actions have angered some lawmakers who think the administration's purported concessions mean little. Some Republicans said that the White House came closer to suffering a big setback than is widely known, and that President Bush must be more forthcoming about the eavesdropping program to retain Congress's good will.

The first White House scramble came on Feb. 8, before the House intelligence committee began a closed briefing on the program, which Bush began in late 2001 but which was disclosed only recently. The program allows the National Security Agency to monitor communications involving a person in the United States and one outside, provided one is a possible terrorism suspect. The administration says the program is exempt from the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which provides for domestic surveillance warrants. Many lawmakers and legal scholars disagree.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901031.html


Gee, I thought Pat Roberts took care of everything for the WH?

Remember how, when you were a kid, and you were scared of the dark or something, you might have had your mom or dad tell you "If you weren't so bad, you wouldn't be so scared."

I would never demonize my kid for his own fears.

vulnerable to being charged a crime... you bet he is scrambling...

But the actions have angered some lawmakers who think the administration's purported concessions mean little. Some Republicans said that the White House came closer to suffering a big setback than is widely known, and that President Bush must be more forthcoming about the eavesdropping program to retain Congress's good will....

.... ergo the reason for the wiretaps, terrorism is rendered phony. I might be a DU delusional
nut case but I have no doubt that Kerry and others were snooped on. The Kerry campaign in OH
had too many things happen and @ a level of sophistication that was down right scary.

Pat Roberts and others are trying to help bush and company get away w/ another crime.

Monica/BJ/White Water = 7 years and 70 million $s
9/11 looked @ by the Congress = less the 18 months and 5 million $s. (I think those figures are right)

Which was more important?

I'm not sure that they eaves dropped on Kerry and Edwards, but at the same time there is something there that they are DESPERATELY trying to keep under wraps. I think they're hiding something far more sinister.

Oh yeah, one more thing...I don't have any faith that they are trying to cover up for National security reasons.....not unless they have used some legitimate super-secret operation ILLEGALLY and subverted its purpose.

a probe?

If it's "legal" for bush to illegally spy on American citizens, why block a probe?

HMMM?

Members of Congress should do something out of the ordinary to nail Bush and Cheney. Cheney and Rumsfeld were the operators of citizen-spying

Any body who created the conditions at GITMO and Abu Ghraib have very little respect for the law, look at the stories of planes flying around with people being tortured in crates,
Is it so hard to believe that they would condone all manner of eavesdropping when they
are waterboarding people, many of whom are innocent.

on edit:
Keeping pressure on congress is the only way. Especially if they are repubs and you are his/her constituent I would pester until I get my point accross.
Then they will start grumbling in public even with the power house holding a fire under their butts.

Mine are all Dems..

MORE LIES to tell. The WH thinks its program is exempt from the 1978 FISA??:rofl:.....oh those OLD OUTDATED LAWS JUST GET IN THE WAY, don't they?! :eyes: I think I read that the WH has until March to explain their ILLEGAL program.