LIVE THREAD: SJC hearing on the NSA surveilance program - C-span 1; 9:30 am EST

[ken5050]

Good Monday morning, once again, fellow political jinkies. The NFL season may be over, but the political season inside the Beltway is 24/7/365. So join us, if you can, as those wacky Dems on the Senate Judiciary committee reprise their pitiful efforts to once again smear President Bush and score political points..

[sageb1]

"The phone companies may be liable at some future date???"

"Kennedy is worried the terrorists will sue them"

I'm way behind and trying to catch up, so I don't know if anyone brought this up, but I could swear I heard that someone is suing the phone company already over this.

The other quick point that I want to bring up, which I'm sure is being discussed in posts I have yet to read is that the AG was very vague when Specter asked questions about how the administration gets along with the FISA court and about Roberts, the judge who resigned. If there WASN"T any problem with the FISA court, it seems to me that Gonzales would have said something along the lines of "Hey, we get along just great." Something is up with the FISA court and its judges and I want to know what it is.

[Liberty Valance]

Thanks.

[Not A Snowbird]

Scott's testy today. Not putting up with the reporters' trash.

I like it.

[mystery-ak]

I hope Majority Leader Frist schedules a vote on a "sense of the Senate" resolution calling for the end of the NSA program.




That would be perfect and Frist should do it....let's get them on record...

[conservativebabe]

Yes, they save the best (or worst) for last.

LOL!

[penelopesire]

"McClellan just "B"-slapped Helen. Really put her in her place!"

What has come over McClellan? He has been firing back at the press these days with some frequency. Good for him. There were some days during the election I so wanted the administration to cut him lose....lol

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks.....

*******************************************

The closing paragraph.....

*********************************

The AUMF is not a blank check for the president to cash at the expense of the rights of citizens. The NSA's terrorist surveillance program is narrowly focused on the international communications of persons believed to be members or agents of al Qaeda or affiliated terrorist organizations. The terrorist surveillance program protects both the security of the nation and the rights and liberties we cherish. As the president said in his State of the Union speech, "the terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent terrorist attacks. It remains essential to the security of America." When I testify before Congress today, I will tell them not only that the president had the authority to use this effective antiterror tool, but that it would have been irresponsible for him not to employ this weapon to prevent another attack on our country.

Mr. Gonzales is the U.S. attorney general.

[conservativebabe]

OMG! I would pay good money to see that!

[Mo1]

I hope Majority Leader Frist schedules a vote on a "sense of the Senate" resolution calling for the end of the NSA program.

Call their bluff and get them on record

[hipaatwo]

LOL LOL..it's a 27 inch..hard to move, has to stay left, but I'll stay right :-)

[Howlin]

I have often wondered why U.S. District Judge James Robertson didn't bother to resign until the NYT published that leak.

[Christian4Bush]

We should start a leak pool.

OK. What do you want to use as the URinaL?
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www.leakydims.com

[p23185]

The dems are stuck (mentally) in the Vietnam War and have lost sight of 911

They sure are and they are trying their damnedest to get to Watergate II. This is a "Pre-Impeachment" hearing, no doubt about it.

[tcrlaf]

Yeah.....
Wouldn't it be great to hear them whining about how unfair it is to actually make them stand up and be counted, AGAIN!!

Imagine the HORROR of Feinstein, Hillary, and Durbin being forced to explain why they voted FOR the program???

[Cboldt]

... they know that "wiretap" is not legally equal to "trap and trace" and "pen registers", which are quite likely what has been used in the program.

I recall reading that the administration has stated the surveillance was beyond PR/TT level of information.

"What I'm talking about is the intercept of certain communications emanating between somebody inside the United States and outside the United States and one of the numbers would be reasonably suspected to be an Al Qaeda link or affiliate," Bush told an audience at Kansas State University.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182824,00.html

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Atty'y General Gonzales: The President has authorized a program to engage in electronic surveillance of a particular kind, and this would be the intercepts of contents of communications where one of the -- one party to the communication is outside the United States.

http://www.politechbot.com/2005/12/20/transcript-of-briefing/

[hipaatwo]

I'm looking forward to her testimony. I thought it was only going to be the AG today.

[Txsleuth]

I loved how the Republicans kept quoting Sandra Day O'Connor, when discussing the Hamdi case...

Just THREW that opinion back at her FANS on the judiciary committee.

[Mo1]

IMO .. that Judge didn't resign in protest

IMO .. he is the Judge that was mentioned in the NYT's article

And if I recall there is an investigation into who leaked the info

[Howlin]

Close hearing scheduled on Feb 9th with AG and Gen Hyden (sp?)

That's too bad; I'd love to see Hayden rip them apart.

And since it's closed, the Dems are free to mischaracterize it till the end of time.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Google says:

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