Posted on 07/10/2009 5:05:53 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/10/2009 Pelosi Statement in Response to Inspectors General Report on President Bush’s Warrantless Surveillance Program
Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to a report by the Inspectors General of the Departments of Defense and Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Office of the Director National Intelligence on President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program:
“The Inspectors General FISA report brings to light the disturbing facts and circumstances surrounding President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program. Particularly disturbing was the observation of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey that the legal analysis under which the program operated for years ‘entailed ignoring an act of Congress, and doing so without full congressional notification.’ No President should be able to operate outside the law.
“The House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees will closely examine the findings and recommendations of the classified and unclassified reports, and will conduct appropriate oversight of electronic surveillance activities.”
# # #
Notes:
On page 23, the report states that the Speaker, along with several other Congressional leaders, disagreed publicly with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ testimony in July 2007 that the “consensus” of Congressional leaders was that the program should continue. Pelosi, Senator Jay Rockefeller, and former Senator Tom Daschle issued statements saying that they told then-Vice President Dick Cheney in a March 2004 meeting that there was no consensus among Congressional leaders that the program should continue.
In addition, Speaker Pelosi wrote the following letter in October 2001, when she was the Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. The letter was declassified in January 2006 at her request. The letter to Lieutenant General Michael Hayden, then National Security Agency (NSA) Director, expressed concerns about NSA electronic surveillance activities and the authority for those activities. Pelosi also released the response letter from Hayden. Both Pelosi's letter and Hayden's response were redacted when they were declassified.
The text of letters follow: ________________________________________
October 11, 2001
Lieutenant General Michael V. Hayden, USAF Director National Security Agency Fort George G. Mead, Maryland 20755 Washington, D.C. 20340-1001
Dear General Hayden:
During your appearance before the committee on October 1, you indicated that you had been operating since the September 11 attacks with an expansive view of your authorities with respect to the conduct of electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related statutes, orders, regulations, and guidelines. You seemed to be inviting expressions of concern from us, if there were any, and, after the briefing was over and I had a chance to reflect on what you said, I instructed staff to get more information on this matter for me. For several reasons, including what I consider to be an overly broad interpretation of President Bush’s directive of October 5 on sharing with Congress “classified or sensitive law enforcement information” it has not been possible to get answers to my questions.
Without those answers, the concerns I have about what you said on the 1st can not be resolved, and I wanted to bring them to your attention directly. You indicated that you were treating as a matter of first impression, [redacted ] being of foreign intelligence interest. As a result, you were forwarding the intercepts, and any information [redacted ] without first receiving a request for that identifying information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Although I may be persuaded by the strength of your analysis [redacted ] I believe you have a much more difficult case to make [redacted ] Therefore, I am concerned whether, and to what extent, the National Security Agency has received specific presidential authorization for the operations you are conducting. Until I understand better the legal analysis regarding the sufficiency of the authority which underlies your decision on the appropriate way to proceed on this matter, I will continue to be concerned.
Sincerely, NANCY PELOSI Ranking Democrat
________________________________________
18 October 2001
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Ranking Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence H-405, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Pelosi:
Thank you for the opportunity to clarify any ambiguity that may have arisen as a result of my briefing on October 1 to members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
In my briefing, I was attempting to emphasize that I used my authorities to adjust NSA’s collection and reporting. [redacted] ] Again, thank you for allowing me to clarify this matter.
MICHAEL V. HAYDEN Lieutenant General, USAF Director, NSA
Another CIA program you were “unaware of”, madame speaker? Oh, do tell.
She’s bottom of the scum bucket too.
Aren’t these the systems that Clinton and Gore used?
Pelosi’s not about to give up. She’ll tirelessly work every possible angle to “get” as many former GWB staffers as she can as long as she’s in office.
In spite of all that blazing away all she’s managed to hit is her foot, so far.
LLS
She is evil, because what she is doing is calculated to make her look better, or so she thinks.
She got her nose bloodied with the straightforward approach, so now she’s doing her best to try to get some other body to do the investigating/persecuting.
Yes: Obama just gave away the store in Russia, but we dont want that in the news ,do we? So along comes this report and Panetta saying the CIA lied to Congress.
I can’t imagine this woman doing anything in an official capacity that isn’t motivated by rancor & ugliness.
This will be used as the excuse to prosecute Bush that she’s been waiting for.
She is a political whore who sold out our bravest to support her twisted view of Democrat domination of the American Government and now that she gets her wish she continues to try and distract the American people from the truth.
No quote in this ping, because it would be some lie from the reprehensible Pelosi. She’s fighting for her political life, mostly against Obama, who turned on her immediately despite her obsequiousness to him.
The first law of political thermo dynamics:
When the heat’s on someone else, it’s not on you.
She is a political whore who sold out our bravest to support her twisted view “
Will Pelosi also think that ACORN’s demands for information from the public is a ‘warrentless search’ amd be equally incensed?
Waiting for that to happen!!
She is a political whore who sold out our bravest to support her twisted view “
Will Pelosi also think that ACORN’s demands for information from the public is a ‘warrentless search’ amd be equally incensed?
Waiting for that to happen!!
Republican reply: “It’s time to put speaker pelosi and the appropriate FBI witnesses on the stand. Let’s once and for all verify she is lying. If she is, she’s a national security risk and it’s time for her to step down.”
Dims are afraid of being caught.
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