"WH Keeping Tabs On People It Shouldn't Have Been Monitoring" (TPM)

[kpete]

That is a bit weird.

TPM Reader DK points me to this article http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/columnists/jonathan_s_landay/15032591.htm?source=rss&channel=krwashington_jonathan_s_landay by Jonathan Landay on the White House's agreement to submit its warrantless wiretap program to the scrutiny of the FISA court. Here are the second and third grafs (italics added) ...

By having the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court conduct the review instead of a regular federal court, the Bush administration would ensure the secrecy of details of the highly classified program. The administration has argued that making details of the program public would compromise national security.

However, such details could include politically explosive disclosures that the government has kept tabs on people it shouldn't have been monitoring.

Pretty high up in the piece that's quite a throaway line if that's all it is. After all, the details could included evidence of life on Mars too. Hell, anything's possible.

It sounds like Landay's pointing to the possibility that the White House has been using the program to monitor political opponents. (I'm not sure how else to interpret that line.) And you get the sense he's doing more than speculating.

-- Josh Marshall
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/009042.php

[helderheid]

1. Hi Agent Mike! I'm going to recommend - will you?

:hi:

[MADem]

2. Yep, and it bears repeating, that sentence

...politically explosive disclosures that the government has kept tabs on people it shouldn't have been monitoring.

[rodeodance]

3. The AP story said the judges rulings would be kept secret.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. That's the point. nt

[Kurovski]

4. K&R.(nt)

[Ringo84]

5. Of course

At least on some level, Duh-bya and company know that they've done wrong. They're just trying to cover their asses. It's only through a complex set of psychological defenses (denial, projection, etc) that they're likely able to sleep at night.
Ringo

[Qutzupalotl]

17. That and Ambien.

Powell says they all take Ambien or Lunesta.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. If it comes out that they were spying on Democratic opponents, does

it mean that Civil lawsuits can be launched against the White House?

[Marr]

7. Of course they've been spying on their political opponents. Look-

they began these illegal domestic surveillance operations months before the 9-11 attacks- just shortly after assuming power, in fact. They've admitted repeatedly that terrorism was not on their radar screen prior to 9-11, so... who were they spying on? It had to be their political (and perhaps business) rivals.

[DELUSIONAL]

8. and their opponents have a zero position of power

it seems to me that too many of the dems have been rolling over -- as if they are being blackmailed.

All of the Nixon rejects were ready to do whatever it took to get and maintain absolute power -- and absolute power means having the "intelligence" or ability to spy on everyone.

This also serves to make people self censor -- even if the bush gang doesn't have the blackmail data they can make everyone think they have that dirty little secret that someone thought was buried long ago.

[Nite Owl]

9. Good point

I see that too that they are acting like they are being blackmailed but the self censoring could very be the key part of it. They don't know what they know or not and because it is their opus operandi they don't want to risk the backlash.

[chill_wind]

10. "Of course" is right. The ACLU website has been full of this information

on broad groups of Americans for ages. And wasn't it CREW that reported on a case concerning theft of information from Congressional Dem comouters way back?

[lostnfound]

19. Not just opponents but allies, too, I bet

a sure way to keep them in line.

[redqueen]

11. Is this why Specter bent over so quickly and let bush do what he wanted?

Are they not only spying on political opponents, but also other republicans... so that they won't have to face any real opposition?

:kick:

[chill_wind]

13. It idly crossed my mind, I was wondering if THAT might have been a

possible subject that had Pete Hoekstra so whigged out a few days ago. (DU Pete Hoekstra letter theads)

I put nothing- nothing past this admin when it comes down to this subject.
They want what they want, and there is nothing they don't seem willing to try to justify under the cleverly twisted guise of 'national security'. The accounts of the Cheney & Rove stong-arming, the alleged letters and threats of GOP blacklisting that went on recently enough surrounding the torture amendment debate and the Dubai strong-arming was a real eye-opener.

[redqueen]

15. Somebody, somewhere, has to be willing to stand up and fight them. n/t

[chill_wind]

12. It's probably just a whole lot easier at this date in the game to ask

who they are NOT spying on. I had a thread with some good links and files somewhere last week about the massive infrastructure,capabilty and the steady growing convergence of all the State's and private corp's surveillance technology. It is quite an unweldy beast. With lots of lucrative money potential for emerging tech companies and gov contractors. One of our latest big-time growing industries :-/

[htuttle]

14. "Who are they NOT spying on?"

Well, the 'terrorists', obviously.

[EVDebs]

18. C'mon, they're spying on Democrats, Greens, progressives

The harassment of Greens flying immediately after 9-11 should have been a clue. Ted Kennedy, a terrorist ? Maybe to conservatives...

[Octafish]

20. Gee. No wonder Karl Rove's a genius.

The Complainer



Garsh. Could it be, all that time he wasn't just acting like a NAZI?

The Little Turd
from Crawford

[shance]

21. I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you.

When are Americans going to wake up?