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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (17604)	2/3/2006 3:05:18 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Has the New York Times Violated the Espionage Act? Little Green Footballs An important piece at Commentary by Gabriel Schoenfeld asks a long-overdue question: Has the New York Times Violated the Espionage Act? What the New York Times has done is nothing less than to compromise the centerpiece of our defensive efforts in the war on terrorism. If information about the NSA program had been quietly conveyed to an al-Qaeda operative on a microdot, or on paper with invisible ink, there can be no doubt that the episode would have been treated by the government as a cut-and-dried case of espionage. . . The real question that an intrepid prosecutor in the Justice Department should be asking is whether, in the aftermath of September 11, we as a nation can afford to permit the reporters and editors of a great newspaper to become the unelected authority that determines for all us what is a legitimate secret and what is not. http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=19062&only commentarymagazine.com

To: Sully- who wrote (17604)	2/3/2006 4:52:24 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Goss: Wiretap Leak Caused "Very Severe" Damage Posted by John Power Line CIA director Porter Goss testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee this morning that leaks about the NSA's international terrorist surveillance program and other intelligence activities have severely damaged America's security: <<< "The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," Goss told the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said a federal grand jury should be empaneled to determine "who is leaking this information." "I use the words `very severe' intentionally. And I think the evidence will show that," Goss said. He said not only have these revelations made it harder for the CIA to gather information, but they have made intelligence agencies in other countries mistrustful of their U.S. counterparts. "I'm stunned to the quick when I get questions from my professional counterparts saying, `Mr. Goss, can't you Americans keep a secret?'" he said. Goss cited a "disruption to our plans, things that we have under way." Some CIA sources and "assets" had been rendered "no longer viable or usable, or less effective by a large degree," he said. "I also believe that there has been an erosion of the culture of secrecy and we're trying to reinstall that," Goss said. "I've called in the FBI, the Department of Justice. It is my aim and it is my hope that we will witness a grand jury investigation with reporters present, being asked to reveal who is leaking this information," he said. >>> The Democrats spluttered: <<< "The president has not only confirmed the existence of the program, he has spoken at length about it repeatedly," while keeping Congress in the dark, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the panel's senior Democrat." Rockefeller suggested that the "leaks" Goss talked about most likely "came from the executive branch" of the government. >>> I don't really understand Rockefeller's comment. The CIA and NSA are part of the executive branch, aren't they? I'm not aware of any suggestion that the leaks have been coming from Congressional staffers. In any event, let's get going on that grand jury investigation. SCOTT adds: It is certainly possible that Senator Rockefeller or other Congressmen briefed by the administration on the NSA surveillance program were among the "nearly a dozen current and former government officials" who were the sources for the Times's December 16 story. Doesn't this possibility account for Rockefeller's spluttering? powerlineblog.com news.yahoo.com

To: Sully- who wrote (17604)	2/5/2006 1:19:27 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Thanks, New York Times Posted by John Power Line Iyman Faris, the only terrorist who has been named publicly in connection with the NSA terrorist surveillance program, has moved to set aside his conviction for conspiring to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge on the ground that he was "illegally" spied upon by NSA. Faris's cause is being taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union: <<< In many ways, Faris is not an ideal plaintiff for attorneys who hope to focus their case on whether the president abused his authority by spying on innocent Americans. Faris' guilt is widely acknowledged, despite his recent claims of innocence. Among the evidence against him, prosecutors alleged that he sent a message to al-Qaida leadership in 2003 claiming that "the weather is too hot," a signal that he could not follow through with his Brooklyn Bridge plan. >>> The NSA's international surveillance program is legal, but the Democrats' partisan insistence to the contrary, notwithstanding the different tune they sang during the Clinton administration, could have serious consequences. powerlineblog.com stoptheaclu.com corner.nationalreview.com