Desperately trying to implicate Dems, Goss admits CIA broke the law, twice, in briefing Congress

ProSense

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Sat Apr-25-09 05:48 PM
Original message

Desperately trying to implicate Dems, Goss admits CIA broke the law, twice, in briefing Congress

Goss Escalates War with Pelosi, Harman

by mcjoan

Former CIA director Porter Goss takes to the op-ed page of WaPo with a shrill screed about the damage done to America's national security now that our dirty torture secrets hae been revealed. "We have given our enemy invaluable information about the rules by which we operate." That argument has been debunked over and over--the information was out regardless of the release of the memos, but more importantly, Goss's and Bush's "rules" are no longer the rules by which we operate.

But what's more interesting about Goss's piece is his target: Pelosi and Harman. Marcy has the full story of the skirmish going on there.

Goss has been trying to implicate Democratic leaders in the torture program, saying that they were fully briefed and should have known that not only were torture techniques had been approved for use, but "had already been employed." Pelosi says that they were not informed that the techniques had been used. Both Pelosi and Harman, at least, objected to the program in secret memorandum or letters--secret because the program was highly classifed. Harman, however, had her letter to CIA counsel declassified. Harman strongly objects to the program on policy grounds, attempting to determine if "enhanced techniques been authorized and approved by the President," but does not indicate that she was aware that the techniques were actually being used.

Marcy wraps up:

Now, setting aside Pelosi's and Goss' differing understanding of the fall 2002 briefing for a moment, note what Goss, even with his version, also admits to.

Even according to Goss' version, just the the Chairs and Ranking Members of the two intelligence committees attended the briefing (though he tries to imply, with his "senior members of Congress," that it was more than that). Not the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House and Senate, as required by law. Briefing just the Gang of Four--and not the full Gang of Eight--is a violation of the law. After all, Pelosi couldn't have complained to the House minority leader (Dick Gephardt at the time), because he had not been briefed on the program!!

So while Goss seems intent on escalating his attempts to implicate Pelosi and Harman in his own complicity with the CIA's torture program, in doing so he admits that CIA broke the law, twice, in its briefing of Congress. It did not brief Congress before it started the torture (and recall, we know the torture had been contemplated since at least April, so they can't claim they didn't have time to inform Congress beforehand). And, the CIA failed to meet the legal requirements on informing Congress by including Congressional leadership as well as intelligence leadership.

Well there's a fun little outgrowth of the torture policy war--Goss just admitted to a violation of the law. Another one. That's pretty important.

There's another dot to connect, though, and that's the torrent of leaks we've seen from "former intelligence officials" (Goss, anyone?) against Harman in the past week, leaks that have been expanded to include Pelosi. What may have looked like tinfoil when drational, Marcy, and I initially wrote about it, here and here, is beginning to look more rational in light of this salvo from Goss.

The Harman wiretap story as yet doesn't prove any criminality on Harman's part, but it does have the potential to be very politically damaging. I think this story has be considered in the context of the torture story, and Goss's efforts to implicate Democrats in it.

Sounds like Goss is peeing in his pants.