Gonzales may be conceding NSA surveillance is beyond Bush's acknowledgment

[dajoki]

WP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801587.html

Gonzales Seeks to Clarify Testimony on Spying
Extent of Eavesdropping May Go Beyond NSA Work

By Charles Babington and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales appeared to suggest yesterday that the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance operations may extend beyond the outlines that the president acknowledged in mid-December.

In a letter yesterday to senators in which he asked to clarify his Feb. 6 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales also seemed to imply that the administration's original legal justification for the program was not as clear-cut as he indicated three weeks ago.
At that appearance, Gonzales confined his comments to the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, saying that President Bush had authorized it "and that is all that he has authorized."

But in yesterday's letter, Gonzales, citing that quote, wrote: "I did not and could not address . . . any other classified intelligence activities." Using the administration's term for the recently disclosed operation, he continued, "I was confining my remarks to the Terrorist Surveillance Program as described by the President, the legality of which was the subject" of the Feb. 6 hearing.

At least one constitutional scholar who testified before the committee yesterday said in an interview that Gonzales appeared to be hinting that the operation disclosed by the New York Times in mid-December is not the full extent of eavesdropping on U.S. residents conducted without court warrants.

"It seems to me he is conceding that there are other NSA surveillance programs ongoing that the president hasn't told anyone about," said Bruce Fein, a government lawyer in the Nixon, Carter and Reagan administrations.

[C_U_L8R]

1. Why would he do this ??

Appears to be some kind of ass-covering.... but
something just isn't adding up for me.
Any theories?

[marmar]

2. I agree. Something doesn't add up.

Not with "Torture now, torture forever" Alberto Gonzales.

[WCGreen]

3. He doesn't want to go to jail.......

[Inland]

4. Pre empting an article, perhaps?

maybe, remember the papers check with the admin before they publish nat sec stuff. Somebody might have tipped of AG that they were going to reveal the truth, he does it first to take the sting out of it.

[dajoki]

5. certainly not...

a sudden attack of conscience!!

[hwmnbn]

6. That is a real stretch .......

the torture guy has no conscience. I believe it's more like he knows that Fitz knows that Alberto fucked up and obstructed justice by with-holding e-mail evidence.

[dajoki]

9. i know...

was only joking.

[hwmnbn]

10. oops .....

never mind. :blush:

Normally, I can pick that out. This Alberto bastard has me seeing red and I'm not thinking normally.

[dajoki]

11. they have...

my head spinning as well.:hi:

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. He would only do this if he feared getting in trouble over something...

What that something is, is what we need to find out.

[biscotti]

8. Perhaps they have gotten wind of an

investigation on domestic spying being used for Rovian political dirty tricks. Nixon redux.