Breaking: White House releases letter on NSA program.
After missing the noon deadline imposed by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), the White House has released a statement seeking to resolve the discrepancies in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ contradictory statements about the NSA warrantless wiretapping program. According to CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux, the letter from Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell says that “a number of these intelligence activities were authorized in order.”
UPDATE: More from the letter: It states, “One particular aspect of these activities and nothing more, was publicly acknowledged by the President and described in December 2005.” Malveaux reported:
The key line in this letter says one particular aspect of these activities, and nothing more, was publicly acknowledged by the President and described in December of 2005. That is what Gonzales says was the Terrorist Surveillance Program. So what other program are they talking about? Again, they say it’s classified. It’s top secret. The third line in the letter is key: This is the only aspect of the NSA activities that can be discussed publicly. So what they’re saying is everything else is secret but what he was talking about specifically was the Terrorist Surveillance Program.
UPDATE II: Here’s the video:
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UHUH!!! And why am I not surprised?
July 31st, 2007 at 4:43 pm“When you agreed to that one thing, we threw in a bunch of other things.”
Yeah, that’s it.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:43 pmThese guys make Nixon look like a Saint! And I voted for Nixon in 72.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:47 pmJust another variation on “it’s so secret that if we tell you, we’d have to kill you”.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:49 pmThis isn’t a resignation or firing letter?
I’m going back to bed.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:49 pmIf they don’t recall anything they’ve said, how do they know it’s secret?
July 31st, 2007 at 4:49 pmArlen Specter: “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You guys are really wonderful.”
July 31st, 2007 at 4:50 pmYou guys do understand that there are only about 75 people in the entire country who give a sh!t about this whole phoney Alberto Gonzales “scandal”?
Nobody cares.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:50 pmOK, send them one more letter telling AlBeto how impeached he is.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:51 pmPlease forward that CT_V1 is sorry for disrespecting Wayne’s mil. service.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:52 pmIf you took this story and tried to sell it as a work of fiction, nobody’d buy it. This is living proof that reality is Way stranger than fiction. No comedy writer would ever use material like this, its beyond stupid. Its beyond idiocy. Will Congress finally realize that the White House wants to use it as a commode? How many times does the WH have to take a dump on Congress before they stand up and Do Something???
July 31st, 2007 at 4:52 pmImpeach Bush, Cheney and Gonzales and Save The Constitution!!!
I personally know more than 75 people who care.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:52 pmAnd they’ve gone back and made so much stuff retroactively secret, how can you tell if what they can’t recall now was secret or not before they forgot it?
July 31st, 2007 at 4:53 pmStandard answers: either “classified” or someone doesn’t remember/recall it ever happening.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:53 pmMost people don’t care because most of them are ignorant like Ringo. Homo Ignoramus.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:54 pmWell . . . that sure cleared things up . . . not.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:56 pmI just love the way the wingers scream that there is nothing to the DOJ scandal - not much, just the perversion of justice, stealing elections, lying under oath, hiring incompetents because they have the correct political connections, and gutting the rule of law.
I never remember a time when I trusted politicians, but I used to trust the information that came from the professionals in government - no more - now every word from this sinkhole of corruption is a lie. If BushCo announced that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow, I would know that something drastic had happened to the solar system.
My country has disappeared - and we let her go without a sound.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:57 pmWhy second guess this? I’m waiting to hear what the committee thinks about the late response to their querry.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:58 pmI think he meant “only 75% of all Americans care.”
July 31st, 2007 at 4:58 pmI have to agree with Ringo @ #8 on this one.
July 31st, 2007 at 4:59 pmDo you guys think Lindsay Lohan will get jail time?
July 31st, 2007 at 5:00 pmI have to agree with Ringo @ #8 on this one.
Comment by Philonous
PiPPy’s back.
And just as irrelevant as ever.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:03 pmWhy should people care? No sex was involved.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:03 pmBTW, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the “TSP” (the one — or the portion of the “program[s]”) that Dubya publicly acknowledged) was against the law as well.
Cheers,
July 31st, 2007 at 5:03 pmBlitzer last-second correction wasn’t accurate. He should have said that they accidentally showed a picture of DOD Secty Robert Gates next to the quote from Dir. of Nat’l Intelligence Michael McConnell.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:03 pmStrange, I remember a time, not so long ago, really, a magical time when conservatives got just hoppin mad over concepts like perjury, obstruction of justice and election fraud; mad enough to spend tens of millions in taxpayer money investigating every detail and covering every angle…and I’m guessing guys like Ringo and Philonous were behind congress 110%!
July 31st, 2007 at 5:04 pmI personally know more than 75 people who care.
Comment by emerald — July 31, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
ringo meant republicans, not patriotic Americans.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:05 pmIt doesn’t matter that much to me if people care or not.
Accountability in my government.
Government acting within the law.
That matters to me.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:05 pmIt’s a BOMBSHELL, I tell ya! A BOMBSHELL!
July 31st, 2007 at 5:07 pm28. Good point, EE. Rule of Law, and all, which the repigs have attempted to flush along with the Constitution.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:07 pmThere was a website who had a Troll,
July 31st, 2007 at 5:08 pmAnd Ringo was his name-o.
R-I-N-G-O
R-I-N-G-O
R-I-N-G-O
And Ringo was his name-o.
Thinkprogress, please stop promoting CNN, the network of Glenn Beck and, now, Laura Ingraham. CNN is going down the tubes and we should,a t the least, not give them credibility. If they want to ape Fox, then give them the Fox treatment.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:08 pmNow what will Senator Specter do with such letter… ?
July 31st, 2007 at 5:09 pmWill he talk to the cameras and make public statements,as usual, or he will he keep the pressure on Gonzalez?
#32. Thinkprogress, please stop promoting CNN…
Comment by AlphaLiberal — July 31, 2007 @ 5:08 pm
Don’t be so foolish. CNN is the most trusted name in Paris/Lindsay news.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:11 pmIt doesn’t matter that much to me if people care or not.
Accountability in my government.
Government acting within the law.
That matters to me.
Comment by Egreggious, Esq. — July 31, 2007 @ 5:05 pm
This is what the trolls don’t get. They think it’s all a popularity contest, when actually it’s our country and way of life in jeopardy.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:15 pmThis whole thing makes me so angry because it appears they are going to get away with criminal activity here.
BTW, CNN posted a photo of Gates on the story of MConnell.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:16 pmThis is what the trolls don’t get. They think it’s all a popularity contest, when actually it’s our country and way of life in jeopardy.
Comment by Zooey — July 31, 2007 @ 5:15 pm
If you hang around long enough, I eventually get around to saying something that makes sense.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:16 pmThis is what the trolls don’t get. They think it’s all a popularity contest, when actually it’s our country and way of life in jeopardy.
Comment by Zooey
I don’t think they care about our country at all, because they uniformly demonstrate extremely anti-democratic and authoritarian beliefs. They’re afraid of the people, terrified of change and terrified by the rest of the planet.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:17 pmalphaliberal: So what news organization do you suggest TP should use? Counterpunch? Rense? Capitol Hill Blue?
July 31st, 2007 at 5:19 pmYou guys do understand that there are only about 75 people in the entire country who give a sh!t about this whole phoney Alberto Gonzales “scandal�
Nobody cares.
Comment by Ringo
Again, you seem to habitually have a problem with facts.
That is, unless there are only 107 people in the US…
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003820.php
And if Sen. Specter (R-PA) is still on the fence about where to go next, he might consider this: 70% percent of those polled –including 49% of Republicans- think that Congress is right to investigate Gonzales.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:19 pmI don’t think they care about our country at all, because they uniformly demonstrate extremely anti-democratic and authoritarian beliefs. They’re afraid of the people, terrified of change and terrified by the rest of the planet.
Comment by gummitch — July 31, 2007 @ 5:17 pm
The Constitution is silly.
Politeia [or whatever].
July 31st, 2007 at 5:20 pmThey just waited until Inslee announced so they could try to drown his thunder with their prevarications.
This pathetic attempt at parsing in no way explains away anything. It’s delay show the world it’s value - as a hollow and poorly thought out PR strategy.
Throw Gonzales out, already. We’ve had enough of the bullshit.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:22 pmWolfie says there were “other aspects” [of these programs] “authorised by Congress”?!?!? Really? How so? What law?
Cheers,
July 31st, 2007 at 5:22 pmThey hurted me , alot , They disabled me….. …… i know i cant get justice … there is something…… am thinking.. why do people think they can get away with CRIMES ??????
July 31st, 2007 at 5:23 pmTwo of our trolls have been behaving themselves very well today.
One of them may be doing so because he is banned. But apparently he’s still trying to do good.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:24 pmAnyway, this whole 18 hours for the WH to send Specter a letter, is an OBVIOUS setup. It makes Specter sound tough, when in fact, I’m sure that Rove thought the whole “dog and pony show” up himself.
It should be Gonzales that has to clarify things, not the WH anyway. And doing it via a letter, is a lot easier to control, then Gonzales giving more badly performed testimony.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:25 pmAny reactions to this letter from the Hill yet?
July 31st, 2007 at 5:29 pmRingo has that wrong. I care enough for 75 people BTW, but Americans are paying attention to the illegalization of the Justice Department.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:31 pmPoliteia [or whatever].
Comment by Egreggious, Esq. — July 31, 2007 @ 5:20 pm
You may be taking “Constitution” in the wrong sense.
Politeia = “Constitution” as in: The composition or structure of something; makeup.
or, as Aristotle used it: How the governmental/regime offices are organized.
Both Aristotle and Plato called their ideal form of government a “Politeia.”
July 31st, 2007 at 5:33 pmBoth Aristotle and Plato called their ideal form of government a “Politeia.â€
Comment by Philonous — July 31, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
I was referring to another much-more recent philosopher’s ideal form of government, which I believe goes by the same name, and does not seem to be congruous with the U.S. Constitution. :)
July 31st, 2007 at 5:38 pmPhilonous thinks this obstruction of justice, perjury and election fraud thing is such a bore. Yawn! Ah, but Aristotle and Plato and their concept of Politeia: GRIPPING!
July 31st, 2007 at 5:39 pmWhat they are really saying is the our beloved Chimperor can do whatever the hell he wants to.
Thanks for doing your part to enable this fascism, trolls.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:39 pmAh, but Aristotle and Plato and their concept of Politeia: GRIPPING!
Comment by Ret. Col. Jack Ripper
heh. I thought the same. Its our nerd troll.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:50 pmAlberto didn’t lie. There is a TSP. The rest is secret until it can be declassified to save somebody else from embarrassement. And trust what you’re told. Have they ever led you astray before?
July 31st, 2007 at 5:51 pmAnd, I hope it isn’t lost on the American public that the same people who think their beloved leader can do whatever he wants were cheering on investigations into the Clintons’ Christmas list, their firing of a couple people from the Whitehouse Travel Office and 20-year old land deals for which they had already been exonerated way back in 1994. The double-standards are pathological - it they don’t recognize them, and many don’t, they are literally insane.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:53 pmCome on, people. You don’t understand Ringo’s point. He said NOBODY CARES. But we care. That makes us NOBODIES. Get it?
That’s why this Administration doesn’t need to listen to the Congress, and why Republican candidates don’t need to participate in e-mocracy, because We the People are NOBODY. That government of the people, by the people, and for the people does not exist anymore, sorry Abe.
e-mocracy. I think I just invented that, so for here everafter (c) 2007 Gorn
July 31st, 2007 at 6:07 pmThanks, that clears everything up. We’ve got to impeach the AG. Any questions?
July 31st, 2007 at 6:07 pmIf past history is any judge, Arlen Specter will be statsfied.
You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:34 pmWhat is wrong with CNN? They put a picture of Gates instead of McConnell. A few days ago the confused the Secretary of Defense with Sen. Jeff Sessions. They need to get their facts right. Just shows how sloppy they are.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:36 pmHave they blamed Joe Wilson yet?
July 31st, 2007 at 6:42 pmThe only thing “clarified” by this is that Gonzales did, in fact, perjure himself. Specifically, he said that he met with the “Gang of Eight” on March 10, 2004, and that because of their urging about these “other intelligence activities” he went to strongarm Ashcroft, sedated in a hospital bed. He said that at least twice in the hearing. At another point, he said he had done it “on behalf of the President,” but when asked if that meant Cheney, he refused to answer the question. At least 3 of the Gang of Eight said no such thing occurred; Every one of the four Republicans in that group has been silent. It’s all you need to know, the 3 Democrats told the truth.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:42 pmAnd this is the same administration group to come up with the massive Patriot Act consisting of thousands of pages of detailed laws and issues??? Must have written it much earlier and had a rough draft ready to go before the attacks of 9/11 to get it to congress so fast, and rammed it through before most reps could even get it all read. Hmmmm.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:54 pmWhere’s a link to the full letter?
July 31st, 2007 at 7:05 pmYet another step closer to the day the Congress Republicans running for re-election will have to decide to either vote to impeach Chaney and Bush or get voted out of office. The polls are trending very strongly against the Bush Gang.
What fun….
July 31st, 2007 at 7:19 pmComment by Probus — July 31, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
Yes, program and technical management at CNN is rapidly sliding downward. They are emulating Fox News - they don’t see that the nation is beginning to move away from the likes of Fox News, and the twisted conservative agenda they spew daily with hate and mistruths; CNN is looking at the Fox performance of the past and modeling themselves.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:35 pmBut past performance is no guarantee of the future - Fox News has already peaked and is on the downward side, and like a snowball, it is gathering speed as it goes down. CNN is on the wrong side.
Borrowing from T.S. Eliot..
July 31st, 2007 at 10:50 pmThis is the way a Repubic ends.
This is the way a Republic ends,
This is the way a Republic ends,
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
What Executive Order are they talking about?
The Washington Post says:
“The Bush administration’s chief intelligence official said yesterday that President Bush authorized a series of secret surveillance activities under a single executive order in late 2001″
I’ve looked through the EOs for 2001, and I don’t see anything - unless it’s the one establishing the Department of Homeland Security, which says nothing about this.
Which one is this? Aren’t Executive Orders supposed to be public?
August 1st, 2007 at 8:59 amCheck this out, look for the guy that has not name under the person who posted.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003268.php
This guy is something and he is making waves, apparently there is much more to the TSP that people think. He know something.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:20 pmCan someone help me out — Am I missing something obvious: I am unable to find a copoy of the letter. Not asking anyone to do any research, just wondering: Has this letter been disclosed anywhere?
Maybe TPInterns/Staff could provie a link to it as an update?
August 1st, 2007 at 3:54 pmDo you think that staying as Attorney General is helping George ???
The longer you stay the more information that will come out, if George is your friend then leave
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:22 am