Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Progress Report:

SEPTEMBER 13, 2007 by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Jeremy Richmond
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ADMINISTRATION

Politicizing Intelligence

In his confirmation hearing, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell pledged to Congress: "I will be open to your questions, ideas, and proposals. I will use my interaction with the Committee as important input in shaping my recommendations and actions." But recent revelations show that McConnell has quickly shunned openness -- and honesty -- with Congress in favor of his role as "the prime Bush administration advocate" for making the Protect America Act permanent. The Protect America Act was passed last month just prior to Congress's summer recess, and it greatly expanded the President's surveillance authority without court oversight. McConnell's attempts reflect the Bush administration's general regard that it is "one bomb away from getting rid of that obnoxious [FISA] court." "I am not a policy maker, and I'm not a political figure," McConnell has countered. But as Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) observed, "[H]e is getting a whole lot of experience very quickly."

LYING TO CONGRESS: In testimony this week, McConnell claimed the Protect America Act -- which expires in five months -- helped prevent an attempted terrorist attack in Germany. "The newly adopted law facilitated [thwarting the attacks] during August?" asked Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT). "Yes, sir, it did," replied McConnell. But a government official "said those intercepts were recovered last year under the old law" and that McConnell may have "misspoken." House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) wrote to McConnell urging him to back up his claims, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) said he had made a false claim to Congress. McConnell himself conceded last night, "[I]nformation contributing to the recent arrests was not collected under authorities provided by the Protect America Act." Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) explained that the German plotters "were under surveillance for 10 months."

'SELECTIVE DISCLOSURE' OF SECRETS: When Congress requests information on the administration's spy program, the administration often claims such information is "classified and sensitive, and therefore cannot be discussed," noted Conyers. For instance, two weeks ago, the Justice Department "filed a brief opposing the public release of secret legal opinions about the [wiretapping] program," claiming that it would "cause serious damage to the national security of the United States." But in an interview with the El Paso Times last month, McConnell "raised eyebrows" by "pulling the curtain back" and revealing "previously classified details of government surveillance." He exposed that it allegedly takes 200 hours to process a FISA-warrant request and confirmed, for the first time, private sector involvement -- revealing more "than did the entire Congressional debate." Noting this irony, Conyers wrote to McConnell urging him to explain why he divulged those secrets to the media while previously claiming "in litigation that confirmation of such involvement cannot be permitted under the state secrets doctrine?" Conyers also observed that McConnell's public claims about the German terror attacks were another case of "selective disclosure of classified information."

'A CLIMATE OF FEAR':
In the effort to drum up support for Bush's expanded spy authority, McConnell has stepped up his fearmongering. Alleging a "period of heightened threat" to the U.S. homeland, McConnell asked Congress just before August recess to "act immediately" to make changes in current law because of "burdensome court orders." Columnist E.J. Dionne said the rushed FISA debate was immersed in a "climate of fear and intimidation." In his interview with the El Paso Times, McConnell warned that "Americans are going to die" if public debate about wiretapping continued (while divulging the secrets anyway). Similarly, McConnell told the Senate Homeland Security Committee last week that "50 percent of our ability to track, understand and know about these terrorists" would be lost without FISA expansion. In his statement yesterday, McConnell did not apologize but rather used it as another opportunity to call for Congress to authorize expansion of the administration's spying authority.

THE NEXT STEPS: Last month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) expressed his "disappoint[ment]" with the rushed process that led to the new law expanding Bush's powers and urged Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) to "conduct vigorous and comprehensive oversight of [its] implementation" until the law sunsets in five months. Reid said that he supports Congress working towards a "longer-term statutory change that better serves American national security interests and comports with the Constitution and proper judicial and congressional oversight." Next Tuesday, McConnell will testify before the House Judiciary Committee "to discuss changes to FISA."

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