Breaking: House Dems Will Investigate Secret CIA Program
This release just out from House Intel committee chair Silvestre Reyes, which says that House Dems have decided to probe the secret CIA program that had been concealed from Congress and was revealed the other day by CIA director Leon Panetta, is a big deal:
“After careful consideration and consultation with the Ranking Minority Member and other members of the Committee, I am announcing an official Committee investigation into possible violations of federal law, including the National Security Act of 1974.
“This investigation will focus on the core issues of how the congressional intelligence committees and Congress are kept fully and currently informed. To this end, the investigation will examine several issues, including the program discussed during [CIA] Director [Leon] Panetta’s June 24th notification and whether there was any official decision or direction to withold information from the Committee.”
This is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it suggests House Dems are bucking the Obama administration. Recall that Obama’s intel chief, Dennis Blair, went out of his way earlier this week to say he didn’t think the secret program was illegal, which seemed like an effort to tell Congressional Dems to back off. But here Reyes is clearly stating a probe into “possible violations of federal law.”
Second, it means House Dems are ignoring the insistence by some Republicans and conservatives that continuing to raise questions about the CIA’s conduct is bad politically for Democrats. House GOPers have repeatedly sounded the refrain that the continued focus on the CIA by House Dems is very, very bad news for Nancy Pelosi, because it plays into GOP efforts to paint her and Democrats as weak on national security.
It seems Dems are forging ahead and ignoring the GOP’s well-intentioned advice.
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
As i said before, if the CIA didn’t need to brief Congress on the program, why did Cheney go out of his way to make sure they didn’t brief Congress?
Its the same issue that tripped up Col Jessup in “A Few Good Men” Why the need to tell the soldiers not to give a code red after they had already told them not to touch Santiago.
I don’t give a d@mn about Blair and Panetta trying to build up their cred, this sh*t has to be investigated no matter what the politics of the situation.
I think they are investigating the wrong area, should be Cheney!
vitorio10, as SG says above, the program was said to have been concealed from Congress at Cheney’s request…all roads would appear likely to lead to Cheney.
I keep hearing about how this program was about assassinating terrorism supporters without regard to borders. I can’t help but wonder if those American Chiquita executives that were funding terrorist groups in Columbia would have been eligible for target.
That’s all been a smokescreen. It was really a covert program to closely monitor the movements of any Senator, Representative, or Governor who might suddenly go AWOL abroad. National Security implications, doncha know.
Sanford’s antics triggered an internal CIA discussion re perhaps resurrecting its operational aspects. That’s how it got Panetta’s attention. The rest is (ongoing) history.
“The statute in question, 50 USC 413b, requires the administration to disclose many covert activities to Congress, but the same statute specifically allows the administration to withhold such information when disclosure would not be “consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters.” Thus, even assuming that the alleged CIA program had reached the stage of development that might implicate the statute, the statue itself allows for nondisclosure. Furthermore, the statute commits the disclosure/nondisclosure decision to the president, not Congress.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/07/post_111.asp
//Furthermore, the statute commits the disclosure/nondisclosure decision to the president, not Congress.”//
First of all, since you’re referencing a rightwing rag like the weeklystandard.com blogsite, let’s just see what the investigation uncovers before we jump to desperate rightwing blogger conclusions, shall we? If there’s one thing that you delusional and dangerously ignorant wingnuts have proven repeatedly over the past 8 years, it’s that you’re rarely right about anything.
Secondly, I don’t see anything in your comments stating that the VICE president can do anything he damn well pleases. And, since your boy Dick is on record saying that the VP is NOT part of the executive branch, that excludes him from that nondisclosure statement regardless. Ooopsies.
@booger: That’s just stupid.
@booger: most of the time when sbj doesn’t know what to say to you, he will just comment that what you are saying is stupid or hypocritical…
@sbj: since you are sending over this immediate response to negate the inquiries of the Congress, do you know something that nobody else knows? You seem to be automatically defending Cheney before an inquiry has even begun. Are you privy to the details of this particular program and how it was handled between the CIA, Cheney and Congress?…just curious since you are so quick to deflect, once again.
sbj, why must you always link to right wing opinions? That’s like me linking to Greenwald or something.
Looks like our first vice president in history will be going to prison. Maybe he can share a cell with Bernie.
@JennD” That’s just stupider . . .
I didn’t respond to booger because he seems to think that if Cheney says he is not part of the exec branch then that makes it true. How can you argue with that sort of logic and insight?
And that’s almost as intelligent or true as what you say right here – “he just calls you stupid or a hypocrite.” Indeed, that’s all I ever do Jenn – you and I have never discussed anything at all have we?
For one thing, Jenn, I am bringing some actual facts to the discussion here – this is something that I have seen little discussed here and I believe it bears some thought. Secondly, you and I both know that this all came about as a spectacularly misguided effort to cover Pelosi’s butt regarding another matter entirely. It’s obvious to all but the most partisan that this amounts to nothing more than rank politicization of intelligence.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/07/14/liz_cheney_defends_cia_secrecy.html
Am I privy to the details? No, are you? I don’t even understand that one.
@chris: Gee, I dunno – perhaps because the post has a handy link to the statute in question? I thought, oh, I don’t know, some of us might want to read it?
I love Greenwald – he’s the best liberal basher of Obama out there!
sbj only links to right wing blogs because that’s where he goes to get his so called “facts”. And my point sbj about if you were privy to the CIA program meetings is because before anything even starts to come to light on this issue you are already dismissing it, you don’t even want to know if there was a problem with this way this was handled. It’s like you are covering your ears, stamping your feet and blaring “La,la,la,la,la-I am not listening” – that was my point on that…and of course, you are SOOOO right…the only reason this is starting up is because of Pelosi, yes of course, always Pelosi’s fault, NEVER, EVER anything that the Bush Administration is at fault for, no of course not, just Pelosi – and of course, it just came up in the last few months due to Pelosi’s statements, NOBODY was ever discussing Cheney’s overreach of power over the last few years, nope, not a word – NOBODY ever questioned whether he was the one that was actually running the Country from some undisclosed location…NOPE…never even brought up before Pelosi opened her mouth a few months ago…yeah right!!! Maybe you didn’t hear anything about investigating the Bush Administration before a few months ago (that’s what happens when you watch Fox “News” Channel, read the Weekly Standard and such related media outlets)
@JennD: “You don’t even want to know if there was a problem with this way this was handled.”
That is just so unfair and untrue. I expected better from you and I deserve, at least, honesty. I have said before that if the CIA concealed something that they should not have that it should be investigated. I have called for an investigation into Pelosi’s charges even if it leads to her exoneration. Please don’t lie about me.
I’m putting forward the very simple and important point that the applicable statute allows the exec branch to conceal this type information – congress gave them the right to do so!
Maybe you didn’t read the letter that the intelligence cmte released, jennD, but it was designed to cover Pelosis rear end – there’s simply no doubt about that.
I read a variety of news/opinion sources – as evidenced by my participation here. It would serve you well to do similar. Greg obviously peruses HotAir and Weekly Standard, he must watch FNC – what does that make him?
Cheneys program to assassinate innocent activists who arent terrorists and dont have anything to do with Al Qaida – can be resisted by Obama as long as Americans believe him that he is saving his powder for the big fight over health care – but the house already voted for the public option. Hey Republicans maybe if you let Americans who need medical care and have or dont have insurance – get it without the bankruptcy – maybe you can swing a deal where Barack keeps holding back those pictures – and this. How many Republicans are willing to vote for health care in exchange for softening this investigation?
What is wrong with you people? Why would you spend even one minute investigating a discussion that led to absolutely NO action? This is so obviously political bull that it is an insult to the American people who elected you and pay your salary. Its time to drop the ‘I hate everyting about the Bush admin’ game and work toward improving the many crises facing the nation. Believe it or not, the public is finally beginning to wake up and really look closely at our imcumbants before we blindly reelect them.
A former Republican Congressman has called for investigations.
http://tinyurl.com/mssg65
Time to PUSH THEM HARD TO PROSECUTE!
SIGN THE PETITION
Demanding both a
Commission of Inquiry
and a Special Prosecutor
http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
You should contact AG Holder directly &
Demand a Special Prosecutor.
Department of Justice Switchboard – 202-514-2000
Office of the AG – 202-353-1555
Email: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
I just don’t believe this will go anywhere… except a big TV and News blurp for a few days. Just like most everything else that evil Cheney was involved in… Perhaps we won’t know half the truth until after he is gone (and no longer around to protect the data and people involved). I could sit and weed back through the past 8+ years of news and tell you that Cheney had his hand in just about everything corrupt with the past admin. But everyone just keeps moving on with a deaf ear and a blind eye. It hits the news ands drifts into the sea, or something. Unbelieveable. I just don’t trust the politicians or anyone in the admin… until I see him and his minions standing before a REAL federal trial and judge!
While Cheney and Bush have committed enough crimes to be imprisoned and executed several times over, realistically I can’t see either of them being charged with anything.
The Democrats are about as corrupt as the Republicans. They allowed these crimes to occur regularly during the Bush Administration, and are also on the corporate payroll.
Yet another reason I vote for the Green Party.