Rove: It’s ‘dangerous to give Congress information.’
Rove: It’s ‘dangerous to give Congress information.’
Editor’s note: This post has been bumped up from earlier.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the secret CIA program that Vice President Cheney allegedly ordered hidden from Congressional oversight involved plans to kill or capture al-Qaeda operatives. Last night on Fox News, top Bush adviser Karl Rove refused to comment when asked by host Bill O’Reilly if he knew anything about the program. “I want to limit my comments to what I’ve read in the newspapers and observations,” he said. Rove then appeared to make the argument that executive branch should not inform Congress of what it is doing:
ROVE: Look, it’s interesting. The CIA briefed Congress to this, I guess, in June. And the Congress immediately leaks it. That, itself is, a violation, I think, of several statutes and indicative of why it is so dangerous to give Congress information.
Watch it:
To clarify, Congress did not “leak” details of the secret program. The Wall Street Journal cited “former intelligence officials familiar with the matter” in its report. But Rove’s comment seems to confirm the Bush administration’s motives for routinely attempting to hide information from Congress.
Transcript:
O’REILLY: Now, CIA, the far left running wild with some kind of undefined program that the CIA didn’t tell Congress about. Do you know anything about this undefined program? You were in the White House at the time.
ROVE: Well, I want to limit my comments to what I’ve read in the newspapers and observations.
O’REILLY: Why can’t you tell us what you know?
ROVE: Well, because, look, it’s interesting. The CIA briefed Congress to this, I guess, in June. And the Congress immediately leaks it. That, itself is, a violation, I think, of several statutes and indicative of why it is so dangerous to give Congress information.
Remember, this is about according to The Wall Street Journal a program that was designed and for which people were trained, but a program which was never put into effect. And so Congress is saying we want you to — we want you to brief us. We, the left wing in Congress, want you to brief us on ideas you have. Not necessarily on programs that you executed.
O’REILLY: Right, so we can tell The New York Times what they are. That’s what they want.
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Ohhh, so THAT’s why he continually refuses to obey subpoenas to testify before Congress.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:17 pmAnother example of how the GOP, lead by the likes of Rove, have zero respect for the law. There is a law that says the CIA has to inform certain members of Congress about any new program. They didn’t do that, based on orders from Cheney. That means the CIA broke the law. Where are the consequences.
BTW, are we ever going to be rid of Rove? I am about as sick to death of him as I am of Newt, Sarah and all the other “has been” Republics.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:18 pmWhy is this bloated fat fcuk not in prison?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:19 pmCan we vote down on anything Rove says?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:20 pmO’REILLY: Why can’t you tell us what you know?
Because O’Lielly , that would mean that Turd Blossom would become a mute for life………..
July 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pmTP – nothing about liz cheeeney’s guest-hosting on msnbc this morning?
i’m hearing on ed that it was quite a liars feast…
July 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pmDuring the past eight years, I found “information” given to the public by Bush/Cheney’s pit bull Rove to be dangerous.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pmRove has more concretely revealed the criminal mind-set of the Bush administration.
D’oh!
July 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pmSo let me get this straight Pig Face, we should trust the likes of your slimy ass with knowledge of these programs, but not the ELECTED officials in Congress whose job it is (if they even remember) to have oversight of this kinda sht. FCK YOU ROVE, you irrelevant piece of dog sht. Quit putting a microphone in front of this asshle. I don’t wish ill will on many people, but I really really wish Rove would get a terminal illness or hit by a bus. Seriously.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:26 pmCan we please keep Karl Rove from leaking information to Fox News?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pmI’d be leery of what the WSJ said the secret program was for. Rupert owns the WSJ and notice how the fascists (ie. Liz, Limbaugh, others) had all their talking points in order after the publication said it was about finding and killing terrorists.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pmI don’t give a damn about the Bush White House’s MOTIVES. And it’s obvious that the Bush White House didn’t give a damn about the United States of America’s rules of LAW!
July 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pmKarl rewrites the balance of powers established in the Constitution, not to mention established laws. He does so from his porcelain throne.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:29 pmROVE: Look, it’s interesting. The CIA briefed Congress to this, I guess, in June. And the Congress immediately leaks it. That, itself is, a violation, I think, of several statutes and indicative of why it is so dangerous to give Congress information.
As opposed to the inherent “comfort and safety” everyone felt with the Bush administration , especially a particular undercover CIA officer ?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:29 pmRove is the scoundrel in all of this.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:30 pmLeaking that a secret program was in existence in no way compromises sources and methods. In fact, the content of the program is still secret meaning nothing of importance has been leaked about the actual program. Informing the American public seems like it should be a solemn duty of a Democratic grovernment rather than a leak.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pmit is so dangerous to give Congress information.
Yeah. Democracy is a dangerous idea.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pmLonger Rove:
We wouldn’t want to Trust WE THE PEOPLE with any information upon which they can base their decisions on.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pmBetter just to have an elite ruling class of corporations making decisions for the American people.
Where are all the trolls? Has word gone out to Troll Central that we can now vote them off the island and they have all given up? One can only hope.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pmRich H says:
Can we vote down on anything Rove says?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
______________
Seriously. It’d be so great to have a voting option offline. We could use it on Karl Rove, Glenn Beck, that guy in front of you at Starbucks who’s taking too long to order…
July 14th, 2009 at 12:36 pmThis just goes to prove that the Bush Administration clearly did not believe in the Constitution, or the systems of checks and balances that were created to avoid tyranny.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:37 pmROVE: Well, because, look, it’s interesting. The CIA briefed Congress to this, I guess, in June. And the Congress immediately leaks it.
___________________________________________________________
“It’s interesting”??? How about “it’s total fiction”??? Why don’t Rove’s interviewers ever call him on what are lies and completely unsubstantiated made-up BS?
Oh, right. He was talking to Bill O’Reilly, not Rachel Maddow. I doubt he’d survive on any show where the host did his/her homework prior to the interview.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:38 pmRovian Theory of Oversight: If we told Congress we were breaking laws one of those goody two shoes woulda blabbed and that would take all the fun and money out of it.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:38 pmSomeone please help me out here. How secret can the CIA Program to kill and capture Al Queda members be if it was included in Jane Mayers book “The Dark Side”? There is more to this CIA Program than we think.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:39 pmIt simply amazes me that anyone would listen to a word that comes out of this mans mouth. And take it seriously to boot.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:40 pmIf the CIA has an assasination squad, I recommend they use it on Karl. Cheney has so many wires in him, they could maybe take him out with EMP.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins says
July 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Where are all the trolls? Has word gone out to Troll Central that we can now vote them off the island and they have all given up? One can only hope.
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Pity — I was actually hoping some would drop by today so we could play with our new toy. I feel like a kid who got a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas and there’s nothing to shoot at.
On the other hand, this just might reinforce my belief that there are really only about two or three trolls — each with about a gazillion names. We totally shut down a couple of trolls yesterday, and they may have disappeared with ALL their monikers.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:42 pmRighties like Soviet-style demagoguery, just like little Davey Vitter likes infantilism.
Foot fetishists are “vanilla”, compared to your average Righty.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:42 pmI am gape jawed at the audacity of “its dangerous to give Congress into”
Of course, Congress did leak the identity of Valerie Plame.
What ? It wasn’t congress ??????????????????????
July 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pmWhat’s dangerous is giving Karl Rove classified information. Just ask Valerie Plame. Talk about real consequences.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pmTP, please stop posting what this PIG thinks. No one cares.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:47 pmstewartj:
July 14th, 2009 at 12:51 pmActually pigs are lovely, and far better creatures than Karl.
Why is this bloated fat fcuk not in prison?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:52 pmWere KKKarl & Billdo in the shower during the interview?
Billdo: Oops! KKKarl, could you pick up that soap for me?
July 14th, 2009 at 12:59 pmIt was just ” leaked ” to me that Carl Rove was seen on Bourbon Street with the female impersonator, Valerie Plumage.He was adorned in peacock feathers with an ostrich boa and what appeared to be a featherduster protuding from his backside.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:04 pmBush the First hired Rove, I recall, based on his skillful use of very dirty tactics in student elections — tactics he freely admitted were borrowed from Nazi students…
July 14th, 2009 at 1:06 pmDangerous to whom, Mr. Rove? The people, Congress, or to you and your friends?
July 14th, 2009 at 1:09 pmKarl Rove has either forgotten what he learned in civics classes or he willfully ignores the facts. He would seek to impose empirical rule by the White House (when repugniscum are in office) and ignore the legislative and judicial branches of government — totally in opposition to the basis on which our nation was founded.
It is not “dangerous” to inform Congress — they are the check and balance — what is dangerous is undermining Congress, usurping power unto the executive branch, and operating as a monarchy.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:10 pmYeah Karl. Information is a dangerous thing. The people who still listen to you are the same 20% of the Repugs who thought Georgie Boy did such a great job.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:11 pmOur system of classifying material and dealing with national security is seriously screwed up if someone like this toad could even get a key to the public washroom, let alone national secrets.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:12 pmI don’t beleive that the program was intended to assisaniate bin laden. It have have started out with that goal in mind but it became an “enenmies” hit squad pretty quick. That’s what they’re afraid of us finding out about. they killed people for political reasons.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:13 pmThe female spawn of the Dick said this morning that “no laws were broken” — but no one asked her how she would know that except that that’s what her sire said, therefore it is so.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pmROVE said:
Not to mention a few laws about a fully informed Senate…
… Eh, Turdblossom?
Nope, THAT can never be illegal when it suits a Republican Administration, YES?
.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:18 pmHe is just a disgusting figure. I tortured myself this morning watching Liz Cheney on Morning Joe. What’s with them having Dan Senor on this week? Isn’t he a Fox guy?
July 14th, 2009 at 1:21 pmROVE: Well, because, look, it’s interesting. The CIA briefed Congress to this, I guess, in June. And the Congress immediately leaks it. That, itself is, a violation, I think, of several statutes and indicative of why it is so dangerous to give Congress information.
Being informed in June , and it not being revealed until JULY , is “IMMEDIATELY” ?
BTW KKKarl
If anyone would know about ‘violation’ , it would most certainly be you ……………And Jeff Gannon
July 14th, 2009 at 1:21 pmMarie,
July 14th, 2009 at 1:21 pmWhy won’t anyone ask that Liz why she knows what classified memos contain? She did stump for and in defense of her dad’s program of TORTURE and proclaimed that the memos(the ones where she can point to the room in which they are kept) vindicate her father. How does Liz know this as fact? They are classified!
.
Ex-CIA agent: Zubaydah waterboarded before DoJ memos approved
By Stephen C. Webster
Published: July 13, 2009
.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pmOops,
July 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pmforgot lik=nk
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/13/ex-cia-agent-suspect-waterboarded-before-doj-memos-approved/
Did we expect anything else of Karl? The man wouldn’t know integrity and honsety if it bit him on the ass. This is a guy, who in fact spread rumors about Govenor Richards so Georgie boy woud win the Govenorship. This is also the SOB who started a whisper campaign to bring down McCain in 2000.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:28 pmstewarjt says:
TP, please stop posting what this PIG thinks. No one cares.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
It’s important to shine light on these cockroaches. We see what happened when the MSM failed to do it’s job during the Bush years.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:32 pm“People had different perspectives about when Congress needed to be briefed,” Liz Cheney said. ” … I think we’ve got to go back to, how have we been so successful in protecting against attacks to the homeland?”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31905635/ns/politics-more_politics/
Isn’t it remarkable how the horseshit GOP prattles on incessantly about how Supreme Court justices need to meet certain guidelines as per the Constitution (when no mention of that appears in any form in that document) , yet they possess the nerve and temerity to try to laughably suggest that the checks and balances that exist in that very self-same document are open to some type of interpretation or that loose variables exist ?
Man , what a moronic anti-American this cow is……..
July 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pmKKKarl Rove.
Lifetime Misinformation Czar.
Slandering people of integrity since the 1972 election.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm“Rove: It’s ‘dangerous to give Congress information.’”
yes, it was so much safer to give 43 and dickwad cheney information for example, the name of undercover CIA operatives who they could expose and endanger in an attempt to “get” her husband.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:42 pm#47, Exactly, Max.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:44 pmWhy no one follows up with the logical question to her assertion that “no laws were broken” is a mystery.
Either she has been availed of classified information, or she is talking straight out of her backside.
Marie,
July 14th, 2009 at 1:52 pmSays loads about that Fourth Estate, NO?
.
R E M E M B E R:
Members of Congress are coming out to proclaim that the CIA has been lying to Congress for some time now(like that’s a revelation). Look who Rove goes to bat for…
… THE LIARS!
Rove staying classy as usual.
.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:54 pmI heard she claimed that her father didn’t break the law that he broke.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:01 pmJust what did Jeff Gannon/James Guckert see in Karl Rove sexually?
I just don’t get it.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pmTwo words.
Orange.
Jumpsuit.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:14 pmRove is, was, and always be a little man. His only real talent is being an political dirty trickster hatchet man. As an unbridled sociopath, he’s very good at this.
How Faux passes him off as a political analyst is beyond me.
First four letters only apply.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:17 pmI don’t know, but thanks a lot. I may be turned off permanently now.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:18 pmPresumed fact: Congress will leak, violating the law.
Conclusion: The CIA shouldn’t give Congress information, a violation of the law.
Even if we accept the presumed fact, Karl forgets the basic concept that two wrongs don’t make a right. They actually make a neocon.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:49 pmNixon had the same mentality as Rove, Cheney, et al. That is what got Nixon in trouble. It is up to Congress to rectify this idea that the President can conduct secret operations without informing Congress.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:53 pm56. Max Anax Julius says “Marie,
Says loads about that Fourth Estate, NO?”
I grew up in an independent church listening to the plans of the govt to tatoo our heads with “666″, heard from some of the plans for the Majestic-12 (? was it 12) / illuminati / etc. . A list being made of people to round up in time of trouble. Plans for a comprehensive surveillance system on the entire population.
Even played a video game based on this (Duke Nuke’m).
But who among the crowd would have guessed that these would all be instituted by the conservative side ? It was supposed to be the commie liberals that did this.
Who would
July 14th, 2009 at 3:11 pmLet’s see, Rove says that the CIA provided information to Congress and Congress immediately leaks it to the press. Sounds familiar. Cheney exposes a covert CIA agent, Valeria Plame, and Rove immediately informs the press. Since Rove’s statement is false and his actions are true, he has no credibility. Karl “traitor” Rove is just another lying Republican. Yawn.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:42 pmYou can tell Rove never, ever worked for the people, and he hasn’t changed. Rove works for the BuschCo Republianazi cabal.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:44 pmThis program was reported on in the NYT way back in December of ‘02. Why a big deal about Cheney saying dont tell Congress anymore about it, I dont know. Sounds like blowing things out of proportion to me. Congress has nobody that reads the paper?
July 14th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/international/15INTE.html?pagewanted=2
July 14th, 2009 at 3:57 pmOnce again, a top member of the Bush regime tries to legitimize breaking the law. Machiavellians to the end.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:27 pmAmazing.. The leaker is afraid that Congress will leak info. The pot calling the kettle black. When is Tubby McTreason Rove going to be frogmarched to the pokey? His 15 minutes of airtime has been over long time ago.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:31 pmStampede88
Because Congress has an oversight function and it is the LAW that they be informed of such programs. DUH
July 14th, 2009 at 6:32 pmExcept that Congress didnt need to be notified of any program that was never implemented, so there was no reason to tell them any more than what was written by the NYT.
Besides, Speaker Pelosi has already proven that, even when informed, Congress doesnt pay attention until it has a political reason to.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:16 pmThe Cheney cabal (Including Rove) have no respect, nor use, for the Constitution. They litterally feel it impeeds their Fasist friends, through corporate entitites, to take over the world.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:17 pmThey are the very stuff that makes Anti-humans and must be purged from the face of the earth forever, along with their kin down 3 generations.
Stampede88 says:
Except that Congress didnt need to be notified of any program that was never implemented, so there was no reason to tell them any more than what was written by the NYT.
That is an absurd construction of the law. The law does not distinguish between implementation of programs. The whole point of an oversight committee is to insure that the law is followed.
Stampede88 says:
Besides, Speaker Pelosi has already proven that, even when informed, Congress doesnt pay attention until it has a political reason to.
This is even more absurd. Pelosi said the CIA was not telling the truth. The Republicans, some of which had criticized the CIA of lying, said the CIA does not lie. Now we find out that the CIA was lying to Congress about its activities. I would certainly welcome an investigation into Pelosi’s charge but I don’t think the CIA and Republicans want to go there because the investigation will expose a lot of lying by the CIA and possibly Bush and Cheney.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:29 pmDEMOCRACY is dangerous, chubby. Sad to see a White House official so damn cowardly.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:22 pmfu[k off and die, pig-shit.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:09 pmThat is an absurd construction of the law. The law does not distinguish between implementation of programs. The whole point of an oversight committee is to insure that the law is followed.
Correct, but the NYT did report on the program, so Congress would have known about it then. The program did not go any farther than planning and discussion. After the invasion of Iraq, plenty of the things discussed in this particular program where being done in the open, so there is no reason to report on a program that didnt proceed.
The Oversight committee would then have to make their own judgement(based on the law) on whether these attacks on AQ were part of the war effort or part of the earlier program.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:19 pmStampede88 74
Yeah we already know what the Limborg hivemind has TOLD you to spew out. Its STUPID but brainless, brainwashed morons gotta do what they gotta do. Pelosi has shown no such thing. What could Pelosi do about a CLASSIFIED program? She couldnt tell anybody. The ranking member of her comittee DID object in the way they could. As usual you morons never let facts or reality get in the way of the ignorant propaganda you want to regurgitate. Doesnt it embarass you to be so stupid and brainwashed?
July 14th, 2009 at 10:38 pmStampede88
The program went on for SIX YEARS. We still dont really know what it entailed. If ANY money whatsoever was spent on the program in ANY way then keeping it from Congress was illegal. Keeping it secret from Congress anyway just shows what arrogant weasels the Bush administration was. They didnt believe anyone had a right to input in their policies.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:41 pmOh,Kkking Kkkarl—you mean like YOU leaked the information that Valerie Plame was a covert op for the CIA? You mean THAT kind of leaking?!!!
July 15th, 2009 at 3:52 amHey KKKarl Goebbles Rove…It’s NOT your decision..it’s the freeking LAW…your Facist Reichstagg is over now be a good little Nazi and take cyanide.
Please.
July 15th, 2009 at 7:20 amI concur.
It’s dangerous to give Congress information, even if legally and ethically required.
It’s even more dangerous to give information to politicians who have confused attaining an office like the presidency with having some grasp of what is needed from an executive.
And it’s even more dangerous to give information, especially sensitive information, to some hack like Rove who will use it for some political game.
July 15th, 2009 at 11:41 am