In the comments concerning the article, I pointed out Ms. Wilson is having re-election problems, partially because of campaign contributions from corporations with connections to pornography. In Ms. Wilson's defense (and that of Senators McCain and Lieberman among others) I would like to note that at least some of those donations came from a high executive of a major news organization who is a born-again Christian that virtually no one would assume was profiting from pornography. The details are in the article at http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Stories.aspx?&StoryID=B224C88D-3D13-4652-9D22-33FD2D80FD2C&SectionID=F3B76EF0-7991-4389-B72E-D07EB5AA1CEE Ms. Wilson et al could rightfully say: How was I supposed to know?,
David Bier --- In osint@yahoogroups.com, "David Bier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > "Ms. Wilson, who was a National Security Council aide in the > administration of President Bush's father, is the first Republican on > either the House's Intelligence Committee or the Senate's to call for > a full Congressional investigation into the program, in which the > N.S.A. has been eavesdropping without warrants on the international > communications of people inside the United States believed to have > links with terrorists. > The congresswoman's discomfort with the operation appears to reflect > deepening fissures among Republicans over the program's legal basis > and political liabilities. Many Republicans have strongly backed > President Bush's power to use every tool at his disposal to fight > terrorism, but 4 of the 10 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary > Committee voiced concerns about the program at a hearing where > Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified on Monday." > > > You can bet Wilson is real concerned about the political liability > factor as she is facing a dead heat at this point for re-election. > (http://www.madridforcongress.com/node/513) and is having to deal with > charges that she speaks out against pornography but accepted $47,000 > in campaign contributions from firms that profit from it. > (http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=34). Oh > well, Republicans have a 16 seat margin in the House and Boehner is > reforming lobbying rules, so one less Republican incumbent won't > matter...or will it? Anyway, it is likely Wilson to take a hard line > against NSA, regardless of Rove's threats to blacklist Republicans who > do that because she is probably already on it from opposing other > Bushworld proposals. It is Darwin's rules after all...and impeachment > actions do > start in the House. > > David Bier > > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nsa.html > > February 8, 2006 > > Republican Who Oversees N.S.A. Calls for Wiretap Inquiry > > By ERIC LICHTBLAU > > WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 A House Republican whose subcommittee oversees > the National Security Agency broke ranks with the White House on > Tuesday and called for a full Congressional inquiry into the Bush > administration's domestic eavesdropping program. > > The lawmaker, Representative Heather A. Wilson of New Mexico, > chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and > Tactical Intelligence, said in an interview that she had "serious > concerns" about the surveillance program. By withholding information > about its operations from many lawmakers, she said, the administration > has deepened her apprehension about whom the agency is monitoring and why. > > Ms. Wilson, who was a National Security Council aide in the > administration of President Bush's father, is the first Republican on > either the House's Intelligence Committee or the Senate's to call for > a full Congressional investigation into the program, in which the > N.S.A. has been eavesdropping without warrants on the international > communications of people inside the United States believed to have > links with terrorists. > > The congresswoman's discomfort with the operation appears to reflect > deepening fissures among Republicans over the program's legal basis > and political liabilities. Many Republicans have strongly backed > President Bush's power to use every tool at his disposal to fight > terrorism, but 4 of the 10 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary > Committee voiced concerns about the program at a hearing where > Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified on Monday. > > A growing number of Republicans have called in recent days for > Congress to consider amending federal wiretap law to address the > constitutional issues raised by the N.S.A. operation. > > Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, for one, said he considered > some of the administration's legal justifications for the program > "dangerous" in their implications, and he told Mr. Gonzales that he > wanted to work on new legislation that would help those tracking > terrorism "know what they can and can't do." > > But the administration has said repeatedly since the program was > disclosed in December that it considers further legislation > unnecessary, believing that the president already has the legal > authority to authorize the operation. > > Vice President Dick Cheney reasserted that position Tuesday in an > interview on "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer." > > Members of Congress "have the right and the responsibility to suggest > whatever they want to suggest" about changing wiretap law, Mr. Cheney > said. But "we have all the legal authority we need" already, he said, > and a public debate over changes in the law could alert Al Qaeda to > tactics used by American intelligence officials. > > "It's important for us, if we're going to proceed legislatively, to > keep in mind there's a price to be paid for that, and it might well in > fact do irreparable damage to our capacity to collect information," > Mr. Cheney said. > > The administration, backed by Republican leaders in both houses, has > also resisted calls for inquiries by either Congress or an independent > investigator. > > As for the politics, some Republicans say they are concerned that > prolonged public scrutiny of the surveillance program could prove a > distraction in this year's midterm Congressional elections, and the > administration has worked to contain any damage by aggressively > defending the legality of the operation. It has also limited its > Congressional briefings on the program's operational details to the > so-called Gang of Eight each party's leaders in the Senate and the > House and on the two intelligence committees and has agreed to full > committee briefings only on the legal justifications for the > operation, without discussing in detail how the N.S.A. conducts it. > > Ms. Wilson said in the interview Tuesday that she considered the > limited Congressional briefings to be "increasingly untenable" because > they left most lawmakers knowing little about the program. She said > the House Intelligence Committee needed to conduct a "painstaking" > review, including not only classified briefings but also access to > internal documents and staff interviews with N.S.A. aides and > intelligence officials. > > Ms. Wilson, a former Air Force officer who is the only female veteran > currently in Congress, has butted up against the administration > previously over controversial policy issues, including Medicare and > troop strength in Iraq. She said she realized that publicizing her > concerns over the surveillance program could harm her relations with > the administration. "The president has his duty to do, but I have mine > too, and I feel strongly about that," she said. > > Asked whether the White House was concerned about support for the > program among Republicans, Dana Perino, a presidential spokeswoman, > said: "The terrorist surveillance program is critical to the safety > and protection of all Americans, and we will continue to work with > Congress. The attorney general testified at length yesterday, and he > will return to Capitol Hill twice more before the week ends." > > Aides to Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who as chairman of > the full House Intelligence Committee is one of the eight lawmakers > briefed on the operations of the program, said he could not be reached > for comment on whether he would be open to a full inquiry. > > Mr. Hoekstra has been a strong defender of the program and has > expressed no intention thus far to initiate a full review. In two > recent letters to the Congressional Research Service, he criticized > reports by the agency that raised questions about the legal > foundations of the N.S.A. program and the limited briefings given to > Congress. He said in one letter that it was "unwise at best and > reckless at worst" for the agency to prepare a report on classified > matters that it knew little about. > > But two leading Democratic members of the intelligence committees, > Representative Jane Harman and Senator Dianne Feinstein, both of > California, wrote a letter of their own Tuesday defending the > nonpartisan research service's reports on the surveillance program and > other issues, saying its work had been "very helpful" in view of what > they deemed the minimal information provided by the administration. > > Scott Shane contributed reporting for this article. > -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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