"Either Weldon is a nutjob.."
He is no nut job. He has carefully planned out with real republicans just how to go about the whole thing, what pace to break tidbits etc.. Problem is the 9/11, Atta, terrorist cells, the China dealings, are not the only things that will end up falling out of this. There is much more. The whole issue with how Clintoon dealt with taking out the Serbs. How our folks interfaced with the Russians with their little problems etc.. There is probably so much we who have not worked in the various Intel Agencies don't know it would make ones head spin off to Andromeda. Surely Weldon only appears to be taking the lead. He is the front man on this job. Lastly it has little to do with patriotism. I has to do with pay back time, regardless of who is going to have to get hurt, e.g. military folks just doing their jobs, etc..
Chertoff has as much reason for payback as anyone. He just about had Web Hubble and Bruce Lindsey by the short hairs over Lippo and John Huang during Senate hearings until none other than Richard Ben-Veniste stepped in to run out the clock on the hearings and get them off the hook.