Led by the ridiculous John Boehner, pissed-off House Republicans marched out of the chamber on Thursday, chanting, "Work! Work! Work!"
And so, it was by a vote of 223 to 32 that the House approved motions to begin criminal and civil contempt proceedings against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers. (Last year, Bolten and Miers were issued subpoenas to testify in the case of the U.S. attorneys who were groundlessly fired in a savage partisan housecleaning. Bush cited executive privilege, and Bolten and Miers failed to comply with the subpoenas, thus the charges of contempt.)
The position of House Democrats, articulated by Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers, was that there are three branches of government -- Democrats refer to these as the "executive," "legislative," and "judicial" branches -- designed to keep one another in check, and to prevent too much power from accumulating in one place. House Republicans argued that there is actually only one branch of government, and he is from Texas. They don't realize that he is actually from Connecticut.
"Let's just get up and leave," Boehner said to his friends, and off they went: "Work! Work! Work! Work! Work!"
White House press secretary Dana Perino, livid at the temerity of all who question, issued a hysterical statement, shrieking that by refusing to testify before Congress, Bolten had "acted at the express direction of the President in the exercise of executive privilege for the purpose of protecting the institution of the Presidency." As for Miers, "it is clear that House Democrats want to punish [her] for no reason other than that she was the President’s top lawyer." It's an attempt to "appeal to the far left in their party by trying to embarrass the President and his close advisors." Trying to embarrass the president. Holding the administration accountable for its crimes is a bad idea, because that could be embarrassing. It certainly could be.
So that does it! Work! Work! Work! Those Republicans were so upset! They felt that instead of dealing with the Bush administration's abuse of power, Congress should give the Bush administration more power. Don't prosecute criminals, they said -- expand the government's ability to spy on its citizens. Don't hold Bolten and Miers in contempt; put telecom immunity into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. "We have space on the calendar today for a politically charged fishing expedition," huffed Boehner, "but no space for a bill that would protect the American people from terrorists who want to kill us."
This has been a standard Republican refrain for a couple of days now -- the absurd suggestion that America will be more vulnerable to terrorist attacks unless Congress immediately provides retroactive lawsuit immunity to telecommunications companies. It makes absolutely no sense.
But it is a nice classic example of deception and fear-mongering on the part of the Bush regime. To convey urgency when there is none, Bush threatened to delay his planned trip to Africa this weekend, if that'll help pass FISA.
"The lives of countless Americans depend on our ability to monitor terrorist communications," said Bush, speaking to reporters outside the White House. "Our intelligence professionals are working day and night to keep us safe, and they're waiting to see whether Congress will give them the tools they need to succeed or tie their hands by failing to act." When a reporter asked Bush to explain the specific security implications if the House doesn't bend to his will, he couldn't. "But clearly," he said, breathing heavily, "there will be a gap. And of course, we won't be able to assess that gap until the time. Step one is, I guess you got to come to the conclusion that there's a threat to America, or not a threat. And evidently some people just don't feel that sense of urgency. I do. And the reason I do is I firmly believe that there's still people out there who would do us harm."
Thank you, sir, that's very clear. There's actually nothing in what you say, but there's always the danger of a gap, unassessable until the time, and everyone is trying to kill us.
Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote a brilliant letter to Bush. In this letter, Reyes vows not to back down when faced with either of America's two greatest threats -- the terrorists, or our president. Forgive me for quoting almost all of Reyes' letter, but it's just too good to cut:
"Because I care so deeply about protecting our country, I take strong offense to your suggestion in recent days that the country will be vulnerable to terrorist attack unless Congress immediately enacts legislation giving you broader powers to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications and provides legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Administration's warrantless surveillance program.
"Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) has authority to conduct surveillance in at least three different ways, all of which provide strong capability to monitor the communications of possible terrorists.
"First, NSA can use its authority under Executive Order 12333 to conduct surveillance abroad of any known or suspected terrorist. There is no requirement for a warrant. There is no requirement for probable cause. Most of NSA's collection occurs under this authority.
"Second, NSA can use its authority under the Protect America Act, enacted last August, to conduct surveillance here in the U.S of any foreign target. This authority does not 'expire' on Saturday, as you have stated. Under the PAA, orders authorizing surveillance may last for one year – until at least August 2008. These orders may cover every terrorist group without limitation. If a new member of the group is identified, or if a new phone number or email address is identified, the NSA may add it to the existing orders, and surveillance can begin immediately. We will not 'go dark.'
"Third, in the remote possibility that a new terrorist organization emerges that we have never previously identified, the NSA could use existing authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor those communications. Since its establishment nearly 30 years ago, the FISA Court has approved nearly every application for a warrant from the Department of Justice. In an emergency, NSA or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may begin surveillance immediately, and a FISA Court order does not have to be obtained for three days. The former head of FISA operations for the Department of Justice has testified publicly that emergency authorization may be granted in a matter of minutes.
"As you know, the 1978 FISA law, which has been modernized and updated numerous times since 9/11, was instrumental in disrupting the terrorist plot in Germany last summer. Those who say that FISA is outdated do not understand the strength of this important tool.
"If our nation is left vulnerable in the coming months, it will not be because we don't have enough domestic spying powers. It will be because your Administration has not done enough to defeat terrorist organizations – including al Qaeda -- that have gained strength since 9/11. We do not have nearly enough linguists to translate the reams of information we currently collect. We do not have enough intelligence officers who can penetrate the hardest targets, such as al Qaeda. We have surged so many intelligence resources into Iraq that we have taken our eye off the ball in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a result, you have allowed al Qaeda to reconstitute itself on your watch.
"You have also suggested that Congress must grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies. As someone who has been briefed on our most sensitive intelligence programs, I can see no argument why the future security of our country depends on whether past actions of telecommunications companies are immunized.
"The issue of telecom liability should be carefully considered based on a full review of the documents that your Administration withheld from Congress for eight months. However, it is an insult to the intelligence of the American people to say that we will be vulnerable unless we grant immunity for actions that happened years ago.
"Congress has not been sitting on its hands. Last November, the House passed responsible legislation to authorize the NSA to conduct surveillance of foreign terrorists and to provide clarity and legal protection to our private sector partners who assist in that surveillance.
"The proper course is now to conference the House bill with the Senate bill that was passed on Tuesday. There are significant differences between these two bills and a conference, in regular order, is the appropriate mechanism to resolve the differences between these two bills. I urge you, Mr. President, to put partisanship aside and allow Republicans in Congress to arrive at a compromise that will protect America and protect our Constitution.
"I, for one, do not intend to back down – not to the terrorists and not to anyone, including a President, who wants Americans to cower in fear.
"We are a strong nation. We cannot allow ourselves to be scared into suspending the Constitution. If we do that, we might as well call the terrorists and tell them that they have won."
