Posted by The Crux |
Give 'em a month, and they'll take ... forever, perhaps. In a piece called The Dog Ate My Subpoena, the Washington Post reported yesterday:
"Today at 2:30 p.m., the clock runs out on the latest deadline for the White House to turn over materials regarding the National Security Agency's eavesdropping program to the Senate Judiciary Committee....
"The committee's original due date of July 18 was already pushed back once at the White House's request, and Leahy did not appear eager to grant more time."
In fact, the White House did fail to meet the deadline. (See Leahy's statement and CNN's video.) As expected, Senator Leahy will look into contempt charges when Congress is back in session, though he professed a preference for cooperation over contempt (WaPo).
It's no wonder the White House is dragging its feet. Late last week, notes from FBI Director Robert Mueller indicated that the White
House not only tried to persuade a post-surgery John Ashcroft to
approve a warrantless-wiretapping program, but also that the White
House may have prevented Ashcroft to review the program. (See Truthout and Mueller's notes.)
And just days ago,the administration got blasted -- even by some conservative bloggers -- for starting a program that would allow state law enforcement to use military spyware (i.e., building-penetrating imaging equipment), which some find legally questionable (see BN-Politics for details and Washington Post).
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