Comey Details White House Attempt to Force Approval of Secret Program

[kentuck]

Remember this? This article is from Josh Marshall's blog from June, 2007. However, it is about an incident from March 2004? Was it really about the warrantless wiretapping program? How does this story tie in with the other Comey story about the three memos on torture??
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http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/003221.php

<snip>
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey detailed the desperate late night efforts by then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and White House chief of staff Andrew Card to get the Justice Department to approve a secret program -- the warrantless wiretapping program.

According to Comey's testimony this morning, only when faced with resignations by a number of Justice Department officials including Comey, his chief of staff, Ashcroft's chief of staff, Ashcroft himself and possibly Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, did the White House agree to make changes to the program that would satisfy the requirements of the Justice Department to sign off on it (Comey refused to name the program, but it's apparent from the context and prior reports that this was the warrantless wiretapping program).

The events took place in March of 2004, when the program was in need of renewal by the Justice Department. When then-Attorney General John Ashcroft fell ill and was hospitalized, Comey became the acting-Attorney General.

The deadline for the Justice Department's providing its sign-off of the program was March 11th (the program required reauthorization every 45 days). On that day, Comey, then the acting AG, informed the White House that he "would not certify the legality" of the program.

According to Comey, he was on his way home when he got a call from Ashcroft's wife that Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card were on their way to the hospital*. Comey then rushed to the hospital (sirens blaring) to beat them there and thwart "an effort to overrule me."

After Comey arrived at the hospital with a group of senior Justice Department officials, Gonzales and Card arrived and walked up to Ashcroft, who was lying barely conscious on his hospital bed. "Gonzales began to explain why he was there, to seek his approval for a matter," Comey testified. But Ashcroft rebuffed Gonzales and told him that Comey was the attorney general now. "The two men turned and walked from the room," said Comey.

.....more

[leveymg]

1. Torture memo was dated August 1, 2002. Abu Zubaydah waterboarded within days, KSM in March 03

Interesting theory you're advancing, but torture program had already been signed off on by the DOJ.

[kentuck]

2. But by the same lawyers?

including Comey?

[leveymg]

3. Comey was one of the white hats. It was Bybee, Haynes, Gonzalez, Addington and Yoo who authored

both sets of memos.

Haynes at DoD, Yoo and Bybee at DOJ OLC, Gonzalez was Bush's WH Counsel, and Addington was Cheney's COS.