Orrin Hatch: Loose Lips On Surveillance
Orrin Hatch: Loose Lips On Surveillance
When reporters ask the White House about the NSA program that secretly collects “phone call records of tens of millions of Americans,” administration officials insist that they “cannot confirm or deny the claims in the USA Today story.â€
Apparently, someone forgot to send the talking points to Senate Intelligence Committee member Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Here’s how Hatch responded to a question “about recent reports of the government compiling lists of Americans’ phone callsâ€:
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said that at least two of the chief judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had been informed since 2001 of White House-approved National Security Agency monitoring operations.
“None raised any objections, as far as I know,†said Hatch, a member of a special Intelligence Committee panel appointed to oversee the NSA’s work.
By answering the reporter’s question directly, Hatch confirmed the program’s existence. This isn’t the first time Hatch has let classified information slip. From a September 2001 Chicago Tribune report:
A senior senator’s disclosure of highly classified information about the U.S. terrorism investigation has infuriated Bush administration officials and led to a clampdown on how much the White House will share with lawmakers.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters hours after terrorists crashed hijacked jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that U.S. intelligence had intercepted a telephone call from a suspect reporting to his handler that the targets in New York City and near Washington had been hit.
Leaking classified information seems to be a conservative strong suit.
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You guys are so full of shit.
Take a position and stay intellectually honest in defending it.
May 17th, 2006 at 1:48 pmwhy does orin hatch want to help terroists?
does he hate America and the values of freedom we represent?
May 17th, 2006 at 1:48 pmLoose lips sink republicans! ROFL. I noticed that good ‘ol Orrin let the cat out of the bag when I read that. It should be interesting to see how he tries (and he will) to back peddle from that statement.
May 17th, 2006 at 1:48 pmstfu chase.
This IS a program that the american people should know about. To suggest that we can’t call the ruling party on their own hypocracy is absurd.
Just look at Phaux News coverage. They are saying that anyone who dares mention this is a traitor. Remind you of circa 1930’s Germany perhaps? Reminds us of it.
May 17th, 2006 at 1:50 pmonce again, terrorists will be shocked the us is all over the phones like bush on a pile of oil soak money
May 17th, 2006 at 1:52 pmChase, I assume you’re talking to the republicans. Venting here may make you feel better, but trust me, Republicans are incapable of intellectual honesty if it decreases profits of their corporate masters or harms their re-election bids.
May 17th, 2006 at 1:52 pmWHY ARE CONS OK WITH CONSTITUTIONAL
VIOLATIONS?
Are you going to be singing the same tune if Hillary Clinton is wielding unchecked Executive power making it up as she pleases with no checks and balances?
Now that it is proven that President Bush has also lied and has been spying domestically on Americans calls and e-mails without a warrant since 2003 are you OK with that? Collecting private phone records without court approval a clear FCC violation, ignoring FISA mandates, and not following the law by informing the FULL intelligence committee as required by law.
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/
http://www.eff.org/ news/ archives/ 2006_04.php#004538
WHY DO CONS PUT PEOPLE BEFORE PRINCIPLES OR CONSTITUTION???
May 17th, 2006 at 1:54 pmI wonder how this will affect the Senate Intel/Judical Committee negotiations on oversight?
May 17th, 2006 at 1:55 pm#1 - Right on! You give those Republicans the “what for”!!!
Of course, you HAD to be talking about Republicans. It’s their MO.
May 17th, 2006 at 1:56 pmThank you Sen Hatch, for your loose, flappy lips. I guess you’re good for something…ugh.
May 17th, 2006 at 1:57 pmonce again, terrorists will be shocked the us is all over the phones like bush on a pile of oil soak money
I meant to follow up with:
these programs are to monitor whats happening in america, if the serious terrorists are stupid enough to get caught up in this, well then score one for the good guys, but most likely (and unfortunately) they are not going to jeopordize their operations so easily, and furthermore, the programs being revealed are on a huge scale that must have a broader goal then just a few overseas calls, they are trying to monitor everything…just to know whats going on, just like the cc transaction database that is being monitored, they are studing habits, behaviors, trying to draw links to criminals and find patterns, freedom is gone, unless it is the freedom mtv tells you to follow
May 17th, 2006 at 1:58 pmkindness, why dont you “stfu”?
i dont give a two shits either way about this program - i’m not a terrorist or a criminal so if they wanna keep a log of who i called in some massive database, go for it. if they’re listening in, that’s a different ball game.
what’s intellectually dishonest, my silly-nanny friend, is being up in arms about not having the program disclosed and then once someone backhandedly confirms it, condemn them for disclosing confidential info (and with the same mouth, sucking off the assbag with a political agenda who leaked it in the first place.)
May 17th, 2006 at 1:59 pmI wonder how this will affect the Senate Intel/Judical Committee negotiations on oversight?
Comment by Citizen80203 — May 17, 2006 @ 1:55 pm
Arlen ‘Rubber Stamp’ Specter will huff and puff and acquiesce as his last moral fiber apparently died in his chemotherapy
May 17th, 2006 at 2:00 pmDoes monitoring more calls help us fight terrorism?
We had plenty of info to bring the 911 gang in before they perpetrated their horrific crime… we just didn’t have the manpower or wherewithal to do it.
I don’t see how muddying the waters with information on exponentially more individuals will help out intelligence agencies overcome man power issues or help them zero in on the true terrorists.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:08 pmHow can anyone consider the republicans the choice-du-jour for fighting terrorism? The Keystone Cops could do a better job.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:09 pmIs it me, or is that picture just begging for a caption contest?
May 17th, 2006 at 2:09 pmRethuglicans should not only confirm the existence of illegal wiretapping, they should investigate, send to trial, and clean up the mess they helped create. Failure to do so will lead directly to the death of this formerly great republic.
We are now empire. How does it feel?
Heck of a job, Bushy! Heck of a job, ReichWingNutWackJobs!
May 17th, 2006 at 2:11 pmi dont give a two shits either way about this program - i’m not a terrorist or a criminal so if they wanna keep a log of who i called in some massive database, go for it. if they’re listening in, that’s a different ball game.
Comment by Chase — May 17, 2006 @ 1:59 pm
So Chase, am I correct in assuming that you would have no problem with the government keeping a log of everyplace you go? You’re not a terrorist or a criminal, so it’s no big deal if they know you went to the library or the drug store, etc., right?
May 17th, 2006 at 2:12 pm#12…. they ARE listening in.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:13 pm“Arlen ‘Rubber Stamp’ Specter will huff and puff and acquiesce as his last moral fiber apparently died in his chemotherapy”
I think you are correct here Dan. However, if the news cycle continues…?
May 17th, 2006 at 2:13 pm#12…. How do you expect them to use ONLY info like phone numbers, times numbers were called, and the length of the calls to find out about possible terrorist plots? The answer is they can NOT. They would have to do more than they are admitting to.
And remember, they didn’t even admit anything at ALL about the NSA at first. Now they are. Soon, it will also be proven that they aren’t just looking at digits, but listening in to calls as well. Slowly this thing will be unravelled just like the WMD lies.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:16 pm#11 bushllit you are 100% correct. If these repugs were serious about terrorism, they’d be spending the money on airline security, port security, rail security, chemical plant security, etc, etc. This program does nothing to keep us safe except confirm the fact that they let the terrorists win by taking away our constitutional rights.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:17 pmzookeeper…may I offer this caption:
“It looks like you won’t be re-elected Mr. Hatch”
May 17th, 2006 at 2:20 pmFrom Orrin’s photo, it looks like he’s suffering from severe gastrointestinal distress.
Not that I give a rat’s fart about their medical condition… but maybe ReichWingNuts should be feeling more than a little distress. They have collectively failed to govern this counrty in a positive, helpful manner. They blew it. Big time.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:21 pmPat Roberts leaked on Lou Dobbs the other day, too.
If it serves the Preznit, the leak is OK.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:26 pmOr perhaps Orrin’s photo shows him after he read…
Recent opinion polls confirm that Bill Clinton, who after eight years in office garnered the highest approval ratings ever recorded for a president at the end of his term, remains immensely popular. This is hardly surprising: under Clinton’s stewardship America enjoyed a booming economy, gargantuan budget surpluses, almost no military conflict, and the respect of the international community.
By contrast, less than six years after the end of the comparative golden era that was the Clinton presidency, America is drowning in record levels of debt, mired in a catastrophic war, and hated by almost all of our former allies. It’s no wonder that George W. Bush appears to be well on the way to becoming the most unpopular president in American history…
[from: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/ artman/ publish/ article_8644.shtml ]
May 17th, 2006 at 2:26 pmOrrin HATCHED!
May 17th, 2006 at 2:29 pmLoose lips, long lies & lowered libido comes at a time in his
life when no one, not even his Red constituents, rally around
this tired old fart.
Backpedal? Hatch? NO WAY.
Well, maybe.
NO WAY.
Well, maybe.
Senator Hatch, you’re a poster boy for the Neocrooks.
How’s that working for you?
chase - please excuse the stfu referance. I over-reacted to your statement. I stand by the rest of my post though.
Big Brother….who here has read 1984? It was required reading when I was in school.
How can folks who profess to idealize individual liberty and freedom find this program (or most the other imperial programs bushco has started) a threat to their idea of what it is that makes America a great nation?
Any righties want to clue us to that one?
May 17th, 2006 at 2:30 pm#22 cynicalgirl - I agree and have said the same many times.
If they were doing everything they could to protect our ports, secure our borders, and collect loose nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union, then I might buy into the line that breaking the law was just another step in an all out effort to protect the American public… but because they have ignored these more obvious and important issues - their protecting America line of bullshit is just not credible.
One has to wonder then - if protect us from terrorist is not their true motive - what is?
May 17th, 2006 at 2:30 pm#23 - Excellent.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:31 pmOne has to wonder then - if protect us from terrorist is not their true motive - what is?
Comment by G.W.SuperChrist
Just off the top of my head, I would say GREED and POWER.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:32 pmMaybe Hatch and all the f*ckers spying on Americans will drop dead so we can all laugh.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:36 pmWhy does Chase hate Ben Franklin???
May 17th, 2006 at 2:40 pm“Anyone who would sacrifice a little liberty in exchange for a little temporary security deserve neither” -BF
Stop Hating America Chase!
May 17th, 2006 at 2:42 pmComment deleted by admin.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:42 pm#35, couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Let’s do a ‘caption contest’ for the pic, kids.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:46 pmHere’s mine…
“I can’t fart here, sitting next to the President”
once again, the daily show was way ahead on this
i hope you all watch this on the “security industrial complex”
http://www.comedycentral.com/ shows/ the_daily_show/ authors/ index.jhtml?startNum=6#
May 17th, 2006 at 2:46 pmand for the caption contest:
“Tie….tied too tight…eyes buldging, can’t breath…this is it”
May 17th, 2006 at 2:50 pmWhy does Chase hate Ben Franklin???
Comment by ShamRockNRoll — May 17, 2006 @ 2:40 pm
Yes! He also hates Samuel Adams, his parents, puppies, Thomas Paine, his ultra small penis, girls, Thomas Jefferson, fluffy clouds, thoughtful deliberation, George Washington, civil liberties, snuggling, the entire Constitutional Congress, The Bill Of Rights, small children, kittens, and freedom.
May 17th, 2006 at 2:55 pmSort of on topic, I keep thinking of this prescient article from The Onion:
May 17th, 2006 at 2:56 pm“Bush: Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity is Finally Over” http://www.theonion.com/ content/ search/ onion/ advanced?search=LONG%20NATIONAL%20NIGHTMARE&restrict=.site:onion
#36, no, it’s “I never fart.”
May 17th, 2006 at 3:07 pmI bet Hatch wears panties and garters. What a piece of garbage.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:08 pmBorin’ Hatch, you look like a giant white head pimple that I would like to take between my finger nails and squeeze until it pops. The take a cautery iron to it just for good measure so it won’t grow back.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:08 pmThe take = Then take
May 17th, 2006 at 3:09 pmhuh???
i have been deleted by ‘admin’…
perhaps it was the last phrase, but, then it could have been ‘redacted’ to not offend, though i note that the gentleperson in #37 shares a common word in his or her log-in.
could it be that i listed his various scandals: bcci, savings and loan, memogate, the salt lake olympics?
could it be that i listed his history of rascism: supporting member of the kkk for judicial post in pickering, supporting thomas and bork?
could it be that i called him a ‘gay-hater’ for his behaviour in attempting to get gay-hate-crimes removed from the hate-crimes matter? or his calling the democratic party the ‘party of gay people’?
could it be that i called him a religious zealot? who actually outed judge prior for being a good catholic? that he is anti-jewish? which is obvious from any knowledge of his religious fanaticism?
i would like ‘admin’ to answer. if not, i shall spend my time and efforts elsewhere.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:10 pmWhat we have a problem with, Chase, is the convenience that the Republicans, including Bush, enjoy in talking about so-called secret programs that all of a sudden threaten our security if anyone else (i.e. Democrats or liberals or anyone who does not support our President) “reveals” or talks about them.
I can point you to a post on Glenn Greenwald’s blog that shows at least 6 different occasions/events where Bush himself spoke to the public about wiretapping and our efforts at tracking terrorists.
I can also point you to a CNN article from late 2001 in which details from the Patriot Act are mentioned:
The proposed PATRIOT (Provide Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act would provide investigators with more flexibility and greater access to high-tech tools to pursue wiretaps of mobile phones, interception of e-mail messages, and monitoring of Web surfing and other PC-based communications.
But don’t take my word for it; go read it yourself.
http://archives.cnn.com/ 2001/ TECH/ industry/ 10/ 08/ privacy.poll.idg/ index.html
Chase, I guess you better get on the ball and call Bill Bennett and the FBI so that they can reserve a prison cell for the author of that article, Frank Thorsberg, for his traitorous acts in revealing our most sensitive secrets. Let’s also throw into prison those traitors and America-haters at CNN who were responsible for posting and revealing this information on the web site; after all, they are accessories to the crime, wouldn’t you say?
The problem with Bush’s warrantless wiretapping is not that a secret was revealed and the terrorits all of a sudden knew that we pursuing wiretaps on their communications when Newsweek’s story broke…it’s that Bush was wiretapping without a warrant and got caught.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:15 pmjames risser - I am with you man! I read your last post and didn’t see anything wrong with it… I too would like to know what’s up?
May 17th, 2006 at 3:22 pmCaption contest:
“Oh my…I just passed gas. Don’t look directly at camera. Must…keep…straight…face.”
May 17th, 2006 at 3:22 pm#45…read the TOS. None of us know what you’re talking about since it got deleted, but maybe it’s an issue of civility.
Anyway, Hatch is a boob. (I hope that one makes it through!)
May 17th, 2006 at 3:23 pmWell, James #45, at least Zimzone agreed with you, whatever you said. Welcome to the deleted club!
May 17th, 2006 at 3:26 pm#50
thanks! put it this way, i didn’t say anything much more than i said in the post that remains, but for the characterization of the gentleman from utah as a ‘bag of ***-****’
and, if that is offensive to ‘admin’, then i suggest that they redact it and leave the balance there… i also noted to admin, that the bag is essentially full of the login of the poster just under mine, but, of course for the animal…
oh well, i guess it is time to move on, if i don’t hear a rational reason for the deletion.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:34 pmJames, when Wayne and I got deleted (Wayne more than once, I believe) I think Wayne sent an email to TP and Judd or whoever would explain directly why the comment was deleted. You might try that.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:41 pmOrrin tell them two of the chief judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had been informed… No Orrin don’t tell them that - then they will know that the government is compiling lists of Americans’ phone calls… yeah but you don’t say anything then you will look crazy… yeah but its better to look crazy than to be considered a traitor… yeah but “None raised any objections, as far as I know”... Oh man! Did I just disclose national secrets again? You know they really ought to get a more competent Senate Intelligence Committee members.
May 17th, 2006 at 3:43 pmSo, will Senator Orrin Hatch be going to jail for this? I’m guessing no. I guess his party affiliation will keep him out of trouble. But if he were a Democratic Senator…
May 17th, 2006 at 3:53 pm#12:
Chase just isn’t aware of the increasingly blurred lines between “call data” and “call content” in this digital age. It used to be that signalling was divorced from the analog voice, and the signalling was quite simple. This prompted the Smith v. Maryland ruling where a divided court held that simple monitoring of dialed numbers are not a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant on probable cause (Laurence Tribe critiques that decision here).
Signalling information, however, is getting ever more detailed in the information it provides, particularly when combined with other information from other sources.
Some examples:
The CALEA law distinguishes between “call data” (the “pen register” type call signalling information of old) and “call content” information (the “voice” content of old) which requires a Title III warrant from a court.
But an ever-increasing amount of particulars are being included in “call data”: For short text messages, there’s been a push to consider the actual text sent to be signalling (on the purported rationalie that it’s just “digital data”.
And with mobile phones, the “Serving MSC” and “location update” events (which provide to the snoops physical location of the target) are considered to be call data events and are included with the “call data” records delivered to Da Man with only a “pen register” court order.
CALEA equipment is required to provide “dialed digit extraction”. This is the touch-tone buttons presses made after a call is first cut through from the target to the originally dialed number (information that was previously the only information available to the snoops on a “pen register”). This is also considered to be “call data”, though, under the ostensible excuse that the additional “dialing” is used to access a specific extension within a company PBX, etc.. But such digits are also used to select a bank account, enter PINs, transfer money, and other types of activities that are really more content-oriented (and the DDE equipment doesn’t distinguish; it passes it all through).
Call forwarding events are also considered “call data”, giving information on a person’s location.
Subscriber ID presents more information that just the phone number, and blocking of caller ID is apparent in call signalling records.
For Internet access, just the “HTTP GET” with the URL provides more than just IP of the “called” server, and in fact even more that just the page which is desired to be displayed; the URL contains all sorts of goodies about the specifics of what is being looked for (just do a Google search, and watch the URL that pops up at the top; look at the stuff after the question marks). But for CALEA purposes, this “HTTP GET” is signalling, and not content.
Tribe (in the article linked to above) is quite right; Smith v, Maryland needs to be revisited in the digital age.
If we want any privacy left at all….
But keep on enabling the snoops, Chase … they’re not listening to your voice. They don’t need to, to get a pretty good picture of what you’re up to.
Cheers,
May 17th, 2006 at 4:06 pmGreat captions, one and all!
May 17th, 2006 at 4:42 pmHere’s mine:
Oh my heck, my magical undergarments are twisting around my left nut. What to do?
Orrin Hatch is not the first. Senator Frist appropriately was the first to spill the beans on Late Edition last Sunday.
May 17th, 2006 at 5:03 pmRoberts committed a similar sin not long ago. Between Roberts and Hatch, they each look like their underwear is too tight - and they act like it too.
May 17th, 2006 at 5:14 pmThey will penalize whistleblowers who try to get the truth out against the lies from Bush&Co but they will forget all about that when it comes time for them to show off in front of a camera.
#56
Zoo…good one!
Another one that I thought of…
Orrin Hatch, in deep thought:
“Why, oh why did I talk myself into wearing a thong today!”
May 17th, 2006 at 5:27 pmCaption contest:
“I think I feel like chicken tonight. Chicken tonight.”
May 17th, 2006 at 5:31 pmWHY DO REPUBLICANS HATE AMERICA SO MUCH?
May 17th, 2006 at 5:42 pm#59 & #60 - Even better…
May 17th, 2006 at 5:43 pmCaption Contest (2nd entry):
Actually it would be a thought balloon because he’s singing to himself:
“You gotta lose yourself
May 17th, 2006 at 5:48 pmIn the music, the moment, you own it,
You better never let it go!
You only get one shot, do not miss this chance to blow,
The opportunity comes
Once in a lifetime.”
Caption Contest (for Airplane! fans):
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit [take your pick] drinking/amphetamines/sniffing glue.”
May 17th, 2006 at 5:55 pmOMG, I’m going to call for caption contests more often. The talent around here is amazing!
May 17th, 2006 at 5:55 pm#61 - I’m guessing here, but could it be because they are whiny-assed titty babies who hate everything?
May 17th, 2006 at 5:57 pm#61 And I think they hate America so much because America allows people in who look different, sound different, and pray to a different God.
May 17th, 2006 at 6:21 pmCaption #3:
“Hmmm…did I leave the stove on?”
May 17th, 2006 at 6:42 pm#64
Jane:
Ahhhh…another “Airplane” fan!
Wasn’t there a scene in which Robert Hayes’ character is flying the plane and thinking to himself, and his thoughts start echoing? I can’t help but think of that when I look at Orrin’s picture above.
May 17th, 2006 at 6:46 pm“Concentrate…Concentrate…Concentrate…Echo…echo…echo…Pinch-hitting for Pedro Borbon, Manny Mota!”
WC, don’t get me started with “Airplane!” quotes, I could go on all night (if I didn’t have to leave now.)
‘Night, all!
May 17th, 2006 at 6:51 pmHatch probably just has the “Reagan” disease. His brain is fried
May 17th, 2006 at 7:28 pmRepublicans either have criminal minds or fried minds. I’m not sure which is worse.
Can you imagine the outcry if a Democratic president did what Bush is doing now? The cries for impeachment would be deafening. There would be no other news on any of the MSM stations. Chase: how do you live with yourself being such a hypocritical fool? You were probably the same person that was screaming about the black helicopters during Clinton.
May 17th, 2006 at 8:17 pmlate to the caption contest
“This the last time I take Bush’s word how good Jeff Gannon is……”
May 17th, 2006 at 8:45 pmSaved the best for last, Clif>
May 17th, 2006 at 9:10 pm#72
Clif:
Ain’t it the truth.
May 17th, 2006 at 9:25 pmI don’t care what the partisan Hatch or Pat Roberts say. They value loyalty over truth every time. Goddamn the lot of the lying SOBs. Oversight by the Judicial branch is what is warranted by law, not oversight of some partisan hacks in Congress.
For every moderate Republican found, you must face ten of these rabid bastards. As a liberal, I could really go for some good old fashioned fiscal conservatism right now…and some straight up accountability. They don’t get it: the vast majority of Americans are tired of the incompetence and secrecy of this government. They are bored to death by the spinning without any evidence to back a position. They are ready for drastic change. The Emperor and his legions are done, they just doesn’t know it yet.
May 18th, 2006 at 12:21 amHey, just for laughs anyone remember the crack job that Orrin and Arlen did on Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmations. They could not wait to announce to the press that any opening was a excoriation of her testimony. They lolled over all kinds of profane words (repeating them over and over again- like perverted Mr. Spocks). HA!!
Shame of it is that it turns out that everything Anita Hill claimed was true. Orrin is without honor.
May 18th, 2006 at 12:30 amThere is a handful of high-ranking, high-profile, highly ideological Republicans in the U.S. Senate who are especially reprehensible and are every bit as destructive to good government as Bush and Cheney. They have enabled and defended this sinister administration at every turn. They defend the most right wing judicial nominations, refuse to allow proper oversight of the executive branch, deliberately obstruct the aggressive pursuit of the President’s part in the misuse of intelligence, and continually defend every unlawful act that comes out of the White House. I refer specifically to Orin Hatch, Jeff Sessions, Pat Roberts, John Cornyn, John Kyl, and Bill Frist. If the Democrats regain control of the Senate in November, I will take particular pleasure in seeing their influence greatly diminished.
May 18th, 2006 at 12:33 amMay 17, 2006 — LATE EDITION — WMR can report tonight on more details concerning the confusing reports regarding Karl Rove and Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald from last Friday. WMR can confirm that the appearance of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before the Grand Jury at the US Federal Courthouse in Washington was a formality in which the jury informed the Attorney General of their decision to indict Karl Rove. That proceeding lasted for less than 30 minutes and took place shortly after noon. Gonzales’s personal security detachment was present in the courthouse during the Grand Jury briefing. From the courthouse, Gonzales’s motorcade proceeded directly down Constitution Avenue to the Department of Justice.
According to sources within the Patton and Boggs law firm, Karl Rove was present at the law firm’s building on M Street. WMR was told by a credible source that a Patton and Boggs attorney confirmed that Fitzgerald paid a visit to the law firm to inform Rove attorney Robert Luskin and Rove that an indictment would be returned by the Grand Jury against Rove. Contrary to other reports, some of which may have emanated from the Rove camp in order to create diversions and smokescreens, the meetings at Patton and Boggs did not last 15 hours nor was a 24-hour notice of intent to indict delivered to Rove. In the Scooter Libby case last October, after the Grand Jury decided to indict Libby on Friday, October 21 and the Attorney General personally heard the decision the same day at a meeting with the jury, the actual indictment was issued the following Friday, October 28. Several sources have told WMR that an announcement concerning the indictment of Rove will be made on Friday, May 19 generally following the same scenario from October 28, 2005 — the posting of the indictment on the Special Prosecutor’s web site followed by a press conference at Main Justice.
WMR was also told by a credible source that part of the reason for Fitzgerald’s visit to Patton and Boggs was to inform Rove attorney Luskin that he has moved into the category of a “subject” of the special prosecutor’s investigation as a result of a conversation with Time reporter Viveca Novak, in which Novak told Luskin that Rove was a source for Time’s Matt Cooper. The special prosecutor, who has prosecuted one defense attorney in the Hollinger case, is reportedly investigating whether Luskin, as an officer of the court, may have violated laws on obstruction of justice.
WMR has also discovered that last year Rove, realizing he remained a lightning rod in the CIA Leakgate scandal, made preliminary plans to move into the private sector from the White House to take political heat off the Bush administration. However, as it became clear that he was in over his head legally and his legal bills piled up, Rove decided to remain at the White House.
May 18th, 2006 at 1:42 ami was wondering if they have located orin hatch`s other wives,this is why he screwed up,too many wives,too many stories.
May 18th, 2006 at 4:54 amCivil liberties should not be a matter for government intervention, Hatch or not. If you ask many people if the president can intrude upon our liberties to fight terrorism, an alarming number will say that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Meretricious nonsense! Go up to these same people on the street and tell them that you have been tapping their phones and that they have a lousy sex life andthey will see what this program really means. So keep up the bloopers, Senator!
May 18th, 2006 at 8:01 amNixon’s ghost must be green with envy. There is a lot of heavy spin on this to convince people that it is a legal and benign program and that our calls, emails and online records are not really being scrutinized but it’s bullshit. This is far worse than Cointelpro and more vast than the original Total Information Awareness scheme that was defeated by Congress a few years ago.
May 18th, 2006 at 8:24 ami dont give a two shits either way about this program - i’m not a terrorist or a criminal so if they wanna keep a log of who i called in some massive database, go for it. if they’re listening in, that’s a different ball game.
Comment by Chase #12
Chafed,
…you’re a lying sack of sh*t…
…if this program were being administered by the Clinton administration…
…you’d be conducting war games in the swamps of whatever red state your bi*ch a*s slithers in…
…you conservative Bushite republiscum would defend him if he murdered your inbred children…
…and none of that sh*t about clinton DID spy on us…
…they had warrants sh*thead…
May 18th, 2006 at 12:24 pmchase#12- How do know what they are doing?? they continue to lie. How can you sickos justify your need to have big daddy think and do for you?? does that make you feel like a moron.— need someone to think for you?? Stand up and be a man/women–think for your self—does that really hurt?? No answer!! never get one. they are sick and can not converse. they need to have some one else think for them..
May 19th, 2006 at 12:02 amFor all the Bushcos– get a life. You are demented. Anyone that ties their worth in life to a polictical party is SICK-SICK. So–Let’s debate that. You won’t, because you are sick human beings. No Ma/IRI both sick.. They will keep posting-shallow, sick, worthless retards. They will be back–but, still sick. I hope this does not violate the “terms of use” I know that IRI never does. Still want to meet you IRI–live in the same city… COWARD.. You still cleaning the johns in the Houston office buildings??
May 19th, 2006 at 12:13 am[…] Orrin Hatch: Loose Lips On SurveillanceThink Progress, DC - May 17, 2006When reporters ask the White House about the NSA program that secretly collects phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, administration … […]
May 30th, 2006 at 9:54 pm