Ally Told Bush Project Secrecy Might Be Illegal (1 Viewer)

[aps]

So what do you think is going on? It's about time the republicans in congress started taking their jobs seriously instead of letting the White House do whatever it wants to do without any oversight.

Ally Told Bush Project Secrecy Might Be Illegal
By ERIC LICHTBLAU and SCOTT SHANE

WASHINGTON, July 8 — 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.

But Mr. Hoekstra, who was briefed on and supported the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program and the Treasury Department's tracking of international banking transactions, clearly was referring to programs that have not been publicly revealed.

Recently, after the harsh criticism from Mr. Hoekstra, intelligence officials have appeared at two closed committee briefings to answer questions from the chairman and other members. The briefings appear to have eased but not erased the concerns of Mr. Hoekstra and other lawmakers about whether the administration is sharing information on all of its intelligence operations. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/w...&en=3c391710733f7e7f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

 

[Deegan]

Impeach him!

Then Cheney will have the throne, and we can kill Kim Jong Il, and all will be right in the world!:lol:

 

[My_name_is_not_Larry]

Impeach him!

Then Cheney will have the throne, and we can kill Kim Jong Il, and all will be right in the world!:lol:

heh, exactly what I was thinking.

Impeaching bush will not stop anything. Cheney's conservatism makes bush look like a liberal. If the dems care so much about their country, then they won't impeach bush and make matters worse for this country.

 

[26 X World Champs]

So what do you think is going on? It's about time the republicans in congress started taking their jobs seriously instead of letting the White House do whatever it wants to do without any oversight.

I had just read this very story at the Times website. It sounds to me like there are more secret programs out there that even the Congress has not been informed about and that Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-MI & Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee) is concerned enough about to have written a very strong letter to Bush in May and that in this letter he suggests that these unknown secret CIA programs might be ILLEGAL.

It's logical to assume that there are more secret programs that no one but the Bush Cabal know about that are potentially illegal. Why should we presume that they're not illegal and that Bush refuses to even allow for Congressional oversight despite be required to by law (National Security Act).

Bush is to truth about American's freedom what Clinton was to Extra Marital Sex....The very troubling thing is that Bush IS hurting all of us while Clinton only hurt his personal life...

 

[26 X World Champs]

Impeach him!

Then Cheney will have the throne, and we can kill Kim Jong Il, and all will be right in the world!:lol:

Who's talking about impeachment? I'm suggesting that this will be another blow to GOP'ers trying to get elected or reelected this November....

 

[wonder cow]

I agree. That's why we should impeach Cheny instead. I think it would be much more effective than impeaching Bush.

 

[Deegan]

Who's talking about impeachment? I'm suggesting that this will be another blow to GOP'ers trying to get elected or reelected this November....

Oh....now you're afraid.....be very afraid!:doh :rofl

 

[RightinNYC]

Everyone's missing the important part of this article. I can't blame you, as the Times certainly did all they could to bury the lede.

Read the PDF of the actual letter, and see if anything shocks you.

I understand that Mr. Kappes is a capable, well-qualified, and well-liked former Directorate of Operations (DO) case officer. I am heartened by the professional qualities he would bring to the job, but concerned by what could be the political problems that he could bring back to the agency. There has been much public and private speculation about the politicization of the Agency. I am convinced that this politicization was underway well before Porter Goss became the Director. In fact, I have long been convinced that a strong and well-positioned group within the Agency intentionally undermined the Administration and its policies. This argument is supported by the Ambassador Wilson/Valerie Plame events, as well as by the string of unauthorized disclosures from an organization that prides itself with being able to keep secrets. I have come to the belief that, despite his service to the DO, Mr. Kappes may have been a part of this group. I must take note when my Democratic colleagues - those who so vehemently denounced and now publicly attacked the strong choice of Porter Goss as Director - now publicly support Mr. Kappes’s return.

That shouldn't be at the top of the article?

The most senior House Official dealing with Intelligence issues, who has access to a plethora of classified information, writes the president privately to tell him that he is in fact convinced that there is a substantial group within the CIA that is actively working to undermine the Bush Administration, extending so far as to leaking highly classified information. And to top it off, he is convinced that the man who is poised to become Deputy Director was part of that group, after he was forced out of the CIA in 2004.

Now if that's not news worth investigating, I don't know what is. I look forward to seeing the Times spend as much time and effort investigating this as they do our own classified programs.

 

[aps]

Everyone's missing the important part of this article. I can't blame you, as the Times certainly did all they could to bury the lede.

Read the PDF of the actual letter, and see if anything shocks you.



That shouldn't be at the top of the article?

The most senior House Official dealing with Intelligence issues, who has access to a plethora of classified information, writes the president privately to tell him that he is in fact convinced that there is a substantial group within the CIA that is actively working to undermine the Bush Administration, extending so far as to leaking highly classified information. And to top it off, he is convinced that the man who is poised to become Deputy Director was part of that group, after he was forced out of the CIA in 2004.

Now if that's not news worth investigating, I don't know what is. I look forward to seeing the Times spend as much time and effort investigating this as they do our own classified programs.

John Warner supported Kappes:

When Kappes was first mentioned for the job of deputy CIA director, Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called him "the ideal partner" for Hayden, who is an Air Force four-star general and former director of the National Security Agency. Warner cited some of Kappes's successes, including his key role with British intelligence colleagues in secret negotiations in which they persuaded Libya's Moammar Gaddafi to give up his nuclear weapons program. "Kappes's pitch to the Libyan leader is said to have been blunt and irresistible: 'You are the drowning man, and I am the lifeguard,' " Warner said on the Senate floor May 10.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/18/AR2006061800779.html

As did John Negroponte:

Seeking to lock up more support, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte told reporters twice yesterday that the top candidate for the deputy position at CIA was Stephen Kappes, the former deputy director of operations at the CIA who is popular among lawmakers as well as CIA employees.

Mr. Negroponte portrayed the two nominees as a package, although he said the administration wanted to resolve the director's position first. Democrats said Mr. Kappes' appointment would help reassure political critics and CIA employees.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060509-122948-9659r.htm

It looks to me that Hoekstra has an axe to grind with Kappes.

House Intel Chairman Hoekstra: CIA Leaks 'Politically Driven'
Kenneth R. Timmerman, NewsMax

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich, told NewsMax that he believes the recent leaks over the CIA's secret prisons and the NSA's terrorist surveillance program were "politically driven," and that the leakers "ought to be prosecuted." . . .

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/6/20/121538.shtml