The Rip Van Winkle Congress
It appears that the five-year long sleep of Congress when it comes to oversight of the administration's security programs may be coming to an end. Today's NY Times contains an article indicating that even the Republicans are miffed at being ignored by the Emperor and his minions.
In a sharply worded letter to President Bush in May, an important Congressional ally charged that the administration might have violated the law by failing to inform Congress of some secret intelligence programs and risked losing Republican support on national security matters.
The letter from Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, did not specify the intelligence activities that he believed had been hidden from Congress.
... "I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed," Mr. Hoesktra wrote. "If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies."
He added: "The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play Twenty Questions to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution." [Emphasis added]
Well, no, Mr. Hoekstra, Congress shouldn't have to beg for information from the White House, but your failure to insist on being fully informed right from the start is partially the cause of this imperial presidency.
That having been said, however, I don't find myself terribly hopeful on the issue. Rep. Hoekstra has made it clear that he is more interested in stopping leaks on the programs that rational people believe are illegal than in stopping or modifying the programs themselves. Since he and most of his party feel that way, and since they control Congress, I anticipate the programs will continue, at least until January of 2007.
In a sharply worded letter to President Bush in May, an important Congressional ally charged that the administration might have violated the law by failing to inform Congress of some secret intelligence programs and risked losing Republican support on national security matters.
The letter from Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, did not specify the intelligence activities that he believed had been hidden from Congress.
... "I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed," Mr. Hoesktra wrote. "If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies."
He added: "The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play Twenty Questions to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution." [Emphasis added]
Well, no, Mr. Hoekstra, Congress shouldn't have to beg for information from the White House, but your failure to insist on being fully informed right from the start is partially the cause of this imperial presidency.
That having been said, however, I don't find myself terribly hopeful on the issue. Rep. Hoekstra has made it clear that he is more interested in stopping leaks on the programs that rational people believe are illegal than in stopping or modifying the programs themselves. Since he and most of his party feel that way, and since they control Congress, I anticipate the programs will continue, at least until January of 2007.
posted by Diane at 3:52 AM
2 Comments:
Ahhhhhhhh. It's a nice circus show. He's not serious, it's only for the public viewing. If he were serious, he would do more than a few secret meetings. Maybe they will come up with a plan for this in about 4 Friedmans.
PeasantParty
Hoekstra = Specter.
It's posturnig for November.
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