Lichtblau and Risen are at it again, with another long suggestive article on the NSA spy program. Along the way they must have forgotten to allege any wrongdoing (again), as there isn't one single reference to lawbreaking of any kind.
Instead, the White appears to have taken the concerns of Ashcroft seriously enough to suspend the program for months. The program was ultimately reinstated along with periodic audits by the Justice Dempartment.
The audit examined a selection of cases to see how the security agency was running the program. Among other things, it looked at how agency officials went about determining that they had probable cause to believe that people in the United States, including American citizens, had sufficient ties to Al Qaeda to justify eavesdropping on their phone calls and e-mail messages without a court warrant. That review is not known to have found any instances of abuses.
Of course, the program was also subject to review by top government officials every 45 days, including many Democrats.
Captain Ed summarizes what is known to date very well:
They followed the FISA law in getting the certification of the Attorney General, and when that couldn't be done, they stopped the program. They proved willing to make adaptations that would satisfy the AG, who then certified the program for a restart. The administration continued briefing Congressional committees on the program and its progress, and except for one note from John Rockefeller, never received any objections. To this day, not one of the people briefed on the NSA intercepts has called for cancellation of the program.
Lichtblau and Risen continue to push this as a major criminal enterprise without producing even the hint of a crime.
The Cap'n also has the inside track on the latest leak theory. Check it out.
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