DEWINE, GRAHAM, HAGEL, AND SNOWE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]have evidently drafted a deal on NSA spying so the intel comte won't probe the program...
Posted at 05:11 PM
And, as the Post article details, the Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee who were depicted as having fallen passively into line apparently don't appreciate those reports and are eager to demonstrate otherwise:Snowe earlier had expressed concerns about the program's legality and civil liberties safeguards, but Card was adamant about restricting congressional oversight and control, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing office policies. Snowe seemed taken aback by Card's intransigence, and the call amounted to "a net step backward" for the White House, said a source outside Snowe's office.
Snowe contacted fellow committee Republican Chuck Hagel (Neb.), who also had voiced concerns about the program. They arranged a three-way phone conversation with Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).
Until then, Roberts apparently thought he had the votes to defeat Rockefeller's motion in the committee, which Republicans control nine to seven, the sources said. But Snowe and Hagel told the chairman that if he called up the motion, they would support it, assuring its passage, the sources said. . . . .
Hagel and Snowe declined interview requests after the meeting, but sources close to them say they bridle at suggestions that they buckled under administration heat. The White House must engage "in good-faith negotiations" with Congress, Snowe said in a statement.
Over the weekend, both Specter and even Pat Roberts made clear that they would not accept the only solution which the White House will even consider -- namely, the absurdly deferential DeWine proposal to exempt the NSA program from the requirements of FISA.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=comment/reply/8025
2006-02-20
$10 says it's a bad deal