Remember last week when Tony Snow said the Bush White House email policy was modeled on the Clinton email policy, when it wasn't. Well Tony's at it again. According to ThinkProgress at today's press briefing he was shocked, shocked I tell you, that the Senate Judiciary Committee would subpoena documents concerning the President's surveillance program. Tony said Senate's conduct was outrageous because Congress was kept “fully informed all along the route.”
Sadly, but not surprisingly, Tony's claim is false. For one Jay Rockefeller, one of the members who was briefed, said the briefings were inadequate.
Clearly, the activities we discussed raised profound oversight issues…I feel unable to evaluate, much less endorse, these activities…without more information…I simply cannot satisfy lingering concerns raised by the briefing…ThinkProgress reports that the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham said his briefing was inadequate. From the Miami Herald:
…Graham recalled being summoned to a classified briefing by Vice President Dick Cheney in late 2001 or early 2002. He was informed about a presidential directive that let the National Security Agency eavesdrop on overseas calls that moved through U.S. communications lines — not people speaking on the phone inside the United States.Should we be surprised that Snow is lying on this topic. He is simply repeating the Fox News Network/ Republcian party line previously announced by his old running buddy, Brit Hume.
… [D]uring his chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee in 2001 and 2002, [Graham] said, “I was not notified that they were going to abandon the FISA process and utilize warrantless intercepts of conversations.”
