Turning Up the Heat on Intelligence Officials About Spying *on c-span now*

[bigtree]

Newspeak article:

Congressional Democrats plan to use a routine hearing Thursday to grill intelligence officials on surveillance issues.

It’s a day they’ve been waiting for: on Thursday, Bush administration critics in Congress will get the chance to grill intelligence officials in public about the National Security Agency’s warrantless monitoring of communications between suspected Al Qaeda operatives overseas and people they contact inside the United States.

National Intelligence Director John Negroponte and his principal deputy, Gen. Michael Hayden, are scheduled to appear with several other top intelligence officials at what was supposed to be a routine Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to discuss the intelligence community’s assessment of current threats to the United States, including terrorist attacks and nuclear proliferation. However, congressional sources say Democrats on the Senate committee plan to use the hearing to grill officials about alleged NSA domestic surveillance. They are particularly interested in questioning Hayden, who before joining Negroponte’s office, served as NSA director. The controversial NSA monitoring program was launched under his command.

Democrats critical of the reported NSA surveillance program have been formulating questions on at least two themes that could prove awkward for Hayden, an Air Force officer who as NSA chief went out of his way to demystify some of the ultrasecretive agency’s activities by making public speeches and opening the doors of agency headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., to limited media access. One key issue will be a recent speech Hayden made at the National Press Club in which he defended NSA’s antiterror program. Some critics say the speech amounted to an engagement in political debate, a role that some view as inappropriate for a professional intelligence officer. Questions will also be raised about whether Hayden accurately characterized NSA’s policies on domestic surveillance in testimony he gave to Congress after the September 11 attacks.

Congressional officials, who asked not to be identified because of political sensitivities, said that Democrats on the intelligence committee had been preparing extensively for questioning about the NSA program at Thursday’s hearing, though it was always possible they could decide at the last minute to avoid the subject. (better not)

full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11133734/site/newsweek/

on c-span now: http://www.c-span.org/watch/index.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS&ShowVidDays=30&ShowVidDesc=&ArchiveDays=30

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. Watching Thanks! It'll suck for us when they go into closed session

oh. to be a fly on the wall. :)

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

2. Thanks for the heads-up, bigtree

Recommended

[Sydnie]

3. Judge Gonzales ... isn't that AG Gonzales?

Why is he calling him Judge?