Without Doublespeak: the Senate Coverup Committee.

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Without Doublespeak: the Senate Coverup Committee.

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 09:17:07 -0800

 

 

 

 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021906Y.shtml

 

 

 

Advise and Assent

The Los Angeles Times | Editorial

 

Sunday 19 Februay 2006

 

That the United States Senate has a body called the Intelligence

Committee is an irony George Orwell would have truly appreciated. In a

world without Doublespeak, the panel, chaired by GOP Sen. Pat Roberts

of Kansas, would be known by a more appropriate name - the Senate

Coverup Committee.

 

Although the committee is officially charged with overseeing the

nation's intelligence-gathering operations, its real function in

recent years has been to prevent the public from getting hold of any

meaningful information about the Bush administration. Hence its

never-ending delays of the probe into the bogus weapons intelligence

used to justify the invasion of Iraq. And its squelching, on Thursday,

of an expected investigation into the administration's warrantless

spying program.

 

The committee adjourned without voting on a proposal to probe the

National Security Agency program, under which government agents have

set up wiretaps on Americans without the warrants required by the 1978

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. President Bush has acknowledged

that he greenlighted the program, essentially claiming that Congress

gave him the power to break federal law and violate Americans' 4th

Amendment rights when it authorized the use of force after the 9/11

attacks. Though the administration's legal defense has been laughable,

its argument that the powers are essential to fight terrorism has

scored political points, ratcheting up the pressure on the Senate.

 

Roberts justified his committee's cave by saying the White House

had committed itself to working with senators to pursue legislation on

the matter. Translation: Bush won't accept any curbs on his power

whatsoever, but he'd be happy to see a bill legalizing his wiretaps.

 

There's a slim chance the House of Representatives might show more

backbone. The same day the Senate committee was performing stupid pet

tricks for White House table scraps, the House Intelligence Committee

approved its own inquiry into the NSA program. Yet the House is still

divided on whether the investigation's scope would involve an

intensive look at operational details or merely examine the status of

surveillance laws.

 

There was one piece of good news last week. In a lawsuit filed by

the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a federal judge on Thursday

ordered the Justice Department to respond to a request for documents

on the NSA program within 20 days. Meanwhile, a Kentucky man is

preparing a civil-rights suit over the wiretapping. If Congress

continues to dither, the courts will be Americans' last hope for an

honest appraisal of the spy program - and for at least a slight brake

on the White House's relentless pursuit of excessive executive branch

power.

 

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