Democrats

NSA Wiretaps Become Issue For Bush Again

May 11, 2006 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅  Print Article ⋅ Post a comment

The NSA wiretap investigation has hit a stone wall and therefore its over. This is tough to understand but I guess that’s how it works, if you get stonewalled in Washington you just give up. Maybe this is why our politicians can’t seem to get anything done? The government has apparently ended an inquiry into the warrant-less eavesdropping program that came to light last year because the National Security Agency has refused to grant Justice Department lawyers security clearance. Either someone has something to hide or the conspiracy theorists are right and we really have lost our ability to control big government. I would like to believe the former idea is correct but I guess you never really know.

Reportedly the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility sent a fax Wednesday to Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York notifying him that they were closing their inquiry because without proper clearance they could not examine the department lawyers’ role in the program and this would hinder their ability to complete the investigation properly. A statement in the letter read, “We have been unable to make any meaningful progress in our investigation because OPR has been denied security clearances for access to information about the NSA program.” Hinchey’s office has reportedly shared the letter with The Associated Press.

The letter advised that beginning in January the OPR made a series of requests for the necessary clearances but those requests were denied, the letter went on to state that, “Without these clearances, we cannot investigate this matter and therefore have closed our investigation.”

Where is the transparency in Washington we were promised? Are our elected politicians really so isolated as to not see that this issue is a very important issue to a large part of the American voting population?

Hinchey is one of many House Democrats who have been highly critical of the domestic eavesdropping program, he stated, “This administration thinks they can just violate any law they want, and they’ve created a culture of fear to try to get away with that. It’s up to us to stand up to them.”

Here here Mr. Hinchey, here here.

Bush Has To Defend NSA Wiretaps

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