Hoekstra letter to White House on illegal spying programs
During May, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R - Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote a letter to President Bush which discussed, among other things, secret spying programs on which the committee had not been briefed. [PDF: New York Times] Section 501 of the National Security Act of 1947 requires the President to "ensure that the congressional intelligence committees are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity as required by this title." [Intelligence.gov]
Here is an excerpt from Hoekstra's letter:
"I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed. If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies . . . The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play 'Twenty Questions' to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution." [PDF: New York Times]
The nature of these secret programs is unclear - but it is worth nothing that Hoekstra has been a supporter of the administration's other (formerly) secret programs involving domestic spying and monitoring international banking transactions. Hoekstra has also participated in recent efforts to comb through documents seized in Iraq for evidence of weapons of mass destruction, championing an innovative "open source" approach intended to let citizens participate in the research. [Boston Globe, Foreign Military Studies Office] Recently, Hoekstra and Sen. Rick Santorum (R - Pa.) claimed that some of the documents found in Iraq proved that the regime possessed WMD, but the Pentagon responded that the weapons in question were "not the WMD we were looking for when we went in this time." [MSNBC]
Clearly, Hoekstra's concerns are not motivated by partisan politics or political ideology, but instead, by concern for the rule of law. With any luck, the growing backlash against the administration's secrecy among conservatives will represent another blow to the current White House's radically broad view of executive power.
"Ally Warned Bush on Keeping Spying from Congress" [New York Times]
PDF: Letter from Rep. Hoekstra to President Bush [New York Times]
"Hoekstra Confirms Letter That Gave 'NYT' Another Scoop" [Editor & Publisher]
Section 501 of the National Security Act [intelligence.gov]
Here is an excerpt from Hoekstra's letter:
"I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed. If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies . . . The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play 'Twenty Questions' to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution." [PDF: New York Times]
The nature of these secret programs is unclear - but it is worth nothing that Hoekstra has been a supporter of the administration's other (formerly) secret programs involving domestic spying and monitoring international banking transactions. Hoekstra has also participated in recent efforts to comb through documents seized in Iraq for evidence of weapons of mass destruction, championing an innovative "open source" approach intended to let citizens participate in the research. [Boston Globe, Foreign Military Studies Office] Recently, Hoekstra and Sen. Rick Santorum (R - Pa.) claimed that some of the documents found in Iraq proved that the regime possessed WMD, but the Pentagon responded that the weapons in question were "not the WMD we were looking for when we went in this time." [MSNBC]
Clearly, Hoekstra's concerns are not motivated by partisan politics or political ideology, but instead, by concern for the rule of law. With any luck, the growing backlash against the administration's secrecy among conservatives will represent another blow to the current White House's radically broad view of executive power.
"Ally Warned Bush on Keeping Spying from Congress" [New York Times]
PDF: Letter from Rep. Hoekstra to President Bush [New York Times]
"Hoekstra Confirms Letter That Gave 'NYT' Another Scoop" [Editor & Publisher]
Section 501 of the National Security Act [intelligence.gov]
posted at 6:25:00 PM | permalink
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