Jul 24 2006
NSA Leak Investigation Hits Capitol Hill
Finally some reports are coming out regarding the NSA leak investigation and their prime target for the leaks: Capitol Hill. Jay Rockefeller, who was interviewed for the NY Times story which exposed our efforts to identify terrorists here in the US ready to attack us, is probably on the interview list. From the sounds of the reporting it does not appear to be a pleasant exercise for these all powerful men and women in Congress:
There are also indications from at least one Senator, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), that the FBI is asking Members about comments of theirs that appeared in other publications regarding the NSA program.
The interviews, which came about after extensive negotiations this spring between the Justice Department and the counsels for the House and Senate, are taking place in Members’ Congressional offices, usually with two FBI agents and one Justice Department lawyer in attendance. Members are also permitted to have a House or Senate counsel on hand if they wished.
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), House Intelligence Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have already been interviewed. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is expected to be interviewed soon.
I hope Roll Call, which has the full story behind a subscription barrier, will see fit to publicize their full reporting. Either way, this is good news that the leaks are being taken seriously and serious measures are being invoked.
Odds, Ends…
1. Thanks so much to Dawn Westerburg for the "Twilight Zone Season 5" DVD set. I'm a big fan of the show, but I almost never catch it when it's on TV. Now I can watch it before bed and give myself the kind of dreams I like to imagin…
Could this be why House leaders OVER-reacted and were so OVER-protective when Jefferson’s Office was raided on May 20th?
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), House Intelligence Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have already been interviewed. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is expected to be interviewed soon.
Were they feeling at little less special and under the microscope?
Discussed this at Called as Seen. If the leaker is a Congressman or Senator, they need to be perp-walked.
If not, get ready for military and intelligence officers to decide to mislead Congress in order to protect personnel in the field. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t blame them at all for doing it.