It’s called, ‘circular accountability’

August 7, 2007

I’d be remiss if I neglected to mention this gem from today’s WaPo.

The Bush administration plans to leave oversight of its expanded foreign eavesdropping program to the same government officials who supervise the surveillance activities and to the intelligence personnel who carry them out, senior government officials said yesterday.

The law, which permits intercepting Americans’ calls and e-mails without a warrant if the communications involve overseas transmission, gives Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales responsibility for creating the broad procedures determining whose telephone calls and e-mails are collected. It also gives McConnell and Gonzales the role of assessing compliance with those procedures.

In the Bush administration, this is what passes for accountability. Gonzales and McConnell will have the responsibility for designing the surveillance system (determining who gets spied on) and the responsibility for determining whether they’re meeting their own criteria.

It’s a bit like writing the test, and then getting to grade it yourself.

Under the new law, the attorney general is required to draw up the governing procedures for surveillance activity, for approval by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which supervises the warrantless collection of eavesdropping inside the United States when it involves foreign intelligence.

Once the procedures are established, the attorney general and director of national intelligence will formally certify that the collection of data is authorized — a determination based on affidavits from intelligence officials. But the certification will be placed under seal “unless the certification is necessary to determine the legality of the acquisition,” according to the law signed by Bush.

It is left to the director of national intelligence and the attorney general to “assess compliance with such procedures” and report their assessments to the House and Senate intelligence panels, the statute states.

The role of the FISA court in this scenario is, naturally, kept to a minimum. As Tim Grieve explained, “Gonzales and McConnell draw up the procedures, the FISA court gets to say if they’re OK, then Gonzales and McConnell decide whether Bush administration officials are using the procedures in the way that Gonzales and McConnell directed.”

That 41 House Dems and 16 Senate Dems approved this measure, even for just six months, continues to amaze me.

I keep trying to think of some angle that would explain the Democrats’ caving on this, but I cannot think of one. The fact that they caved is what matters; all of these pesky details about how those who cannot and should not be trusted are going to ensure that this whole mess is ‘on the up and up’ really doesn’t matter too much. They’re going to do whatever they damn well please, as always.

Canada is looking nice this time of year, I understand.

  • and, yes, terraformer, i just returned from a weekend in canada, and it is nice this time of year. but keep in mind who they recently elected as prime minister. they could be headed down the same path our country is following. a lot of people i spoke with there are none to happy with him, either.

  • Does this allow the Bush administration to claim that no crimes were committed when they previously spied because by the passage of this law Congress indicated its intent to grant the President these powers anyway?

  • We know that if the shoe were on the other foot, Republicans would not even have allowed this bill to come to the floor. That Democrats, out of an abundance of fairness in bring legislation to the floor, could not at least have made sure that the legislation that was brough to the floor was their legislation, and not the administration’s – is beyond me. Way, way beyond me. WH wants a bill – here’s what we’ll do for you. Don’t like it? Don’t sign it; we’re happy to leave the current law in place. Why is that so freakin’ hard? Ooh, ooh – there might be an attack and they’ll blame us!!! If that’s all the courage you can muster against the most corrupt and inept administration in my memory, do us all a favor and get out of the way.

    I’m really just sick of it and sick about it. And really cranky.

  • I heard it suggested that the MAIN reason for this measure and for it’s support was to bail out the Telecommunications corps from lawsuits for cooperating in an illegal program of obtaining information on Americans, basically to cover their asses. Does anyone know if any AT&T etc. lobbyists were involved in pressuring congress members for votes?

    No word yet on why my senator, McCaskill, voted for this measure. Maybe she’s at a victory celebration with my other senator, Kit “I was enthusiastically wrong on Iraq for 3yrs. but I’m right now” Bond. I hear he has a new brand of Scotch to share.

  • So the same dickhead who was “unaware” that the FBI was overstepping the bounds of its surveillance program will get to watch another surveillance program.

    I hereby move that all overseas transmissions begin and end with the following phrase: Fuck You Gonezo!

    Christ, some days it is hard to remember that if there were still a ReThuglican majority things would be worse.

    Maybe.

  • Ann*** Here’s an envelope containing a small amount of white powder to be opened at home later, but for now let’s just watch this small segment of the Zapruder film where Kennedy’s head blows back and then forward again. Did I mention that the entire Plame case is now forbidden to discuss, along with Dusty Fargo, executive privilege and all that. Did I mention the terrorists attack plan for congress sometime in August or early Sept. I believe Trent Lott did. Shame you have to stay till you get this(renewed again in 6mos.) FISA bill done. Did I mention you get to revisit it again in 6mos.?

    It’s at least imaginable, that and cowardly incompetence. Remember, the only two people who could have stopped the Patriot Act from moving through the house and senate were the only two who got anthrax in the mail when they attempted to do just that.

    Legislation by blackmail, bullying and fear mongering approved by cohorts and those naive enough to think they should still play fair and those too afraid not to.

  • In the Bush-world, it does not matter who is doing the oversight: The unitary executive theory of government treats the United States like some giant Voltron Robot guided by the POTUS. Everything AGAG does is following out the will of POTUS, so is correct by fiat.

    The idea the that foot, or finger joint of this robot has any right to object to what the robot does is foreign. And yes, “just following orders’ is considered a defense by GWB, and will earn a pardon too.

  • I got to ask my DINO Congressman, Dan Boren, a question at a town meeting today on this very subject. After a preamble, I asked him what else in the Bill of Rights he considered to be negotiable. Like the Second Amendment, perhaps? That seemed to shake him. He said, “No, no, certainly not the Second Amendment.” because the Second Amendment is almost everyone’s favorite around here.

    Then he actually gave a fairly good response, indicating that he too thinks that the the bill stinks, he also voted for the Democratic version of the bill which they couldn’t get passed, and that the Democrats are going to replace this bill in September with something even I might agree with.

    Promises, promises. We’ll see.

    After the meeting, two little old ladies came up to me and thanked me for my remarks. They identified themselves as “real left-wingers” and “yellow dog” Democrats.

    A fun afternoon.

  • bjobotts – I wish I could believe it was blackmail or personal fear, but if that’s what’s going on, they owe it to their constituents to just resign.

    Okie – I hope you’re right, but I still think this is a case of hatching a plan to close the barn door after allowing the horse to canter on out. Unless the Dems can pass a veto-proof bill, this latest legislation will stand at least until Bush leaves office.

    The other thing that makes no sense to me is that, prior to 9/11, we had a lot less info, but yet, we still had a couple of the terrorists on the watch list, had several of them in our sights, and we still could not stop the attacks. Now, they want to sift through billions of calls and e-mails, the NSA is having power difficulties and the FBI still does not have a computer system that can sort the data – so what, exactly, do they think will be accomplished?

    Call me paranoid, but I still think this has little to do with stopping terrorism, and everything to do with controlling Americans.

  • With their shocking surrender over President Bush’s draconian new FISA law this weekend, Congressional Democrats snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They not only had the votes to safeguard American civil liberties and prevent the legalization of past Bush White House criminality. On FISA as we knew it before August 5, 2007, Democrats had the law – and public opinion – on their side.

    For the details, see:
    “Democrats Snatch Defeat from Jaw of Victory on FISA.”

  • I am not amazed. Neither am I amused. All you need to know about GOP – government is for the convenience of corporations (aka Fascism). All you need to know about Donkeys – too fractured to protect the constitution even with a majority. All you need to know about Shrub – it’s fun being Heir Dictator. All you need to know about the MSM – objectivity? facts? investigative reporting? what the F**K are you talking about? All you need to know about USA – beyond repair. I’m so depressed

  • “The law, which permits intercepting Americans’ calls and e-mails without a warrant if the communications involve overseas transmission, gives … Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales responsibility for creating the broad procedures determining whose telephone calls and e-mails are collected.”

    According to that criteria, my guess is Henry Waxman and John Conyers are public enemies no.1 in Gonzo’s book. What a convenient way for Alberto to see what the Senate and House Judiciary Committees are up to.

  • will gonzales and mcconnell need to meet with karl rove before making their judgements?

  • Alice in Wonderland, chapter III:

    “I’ll be
    judge, I’ll
    be jury,”
    Said
    cunning
    old Fury:
    “I’ll
    try the
    whole
    cause,
    and
    condemn
    you
    to
    death.”

    Most appropriate.

  • Broken record me, again. First point: let’s not forget that 41 Dem Reps and 16 Dem Senators voted for this disgraceful measure — individuals who ought to be the target of our wrath, rather than all Dems. Maybe Dem leadership could have fought harder, maybe Dems opposed to the measures could have made a stronger stand. But when it comes down to votes, these measures were passed by a vast majority of Republicans and a few very misguided Dems.

    Second point: Dem’s don’t have a majority in the Senate on matters like this — as much as we might like to forget him, Lieberman always votes with the authorities.

    None of this diminishes the travesty that has been thrust upon us nor the need to reverse as soon as possible it if such can be done. One of my Senators, a Dem, voted in favor and I’m guessing she has gotten quite an earful from constituents other than me.

  • And don’t forget, this is exactly the same arrangement that Petraeus has: his policy, his theories, he will bless and deliver the report, and he will grade it.

    All dissenting opinons will be shouted down as stab-in-the-back, becasue we’ll finally be WINNING!

  • […] 41 Dem Reps and 16 Dem Senators voted for this disgraceful measure — individuals who ought to be the target of our wrath, rather than all Dems. — beep52, @20

    My cup had been brewing and steaming since Friday and, finally, it ran over. I’m a ‘puter illiterate, but I found my Senator’s (Jim Webb) official website, clicked on Contact, filled out all the data (name, address, serial number), chose “Civil Liberties” from the “Issues” menu and left the following message:

    “Re your FISA vote:
    I must have been out of my cotton-pickin’ mind to have supported you — with money, persuasion and vote. It won’t happen again; you’re a single-issue (Iraq) Democrat, not something I had hoped for.

    Even if all of our soldiers came home in time for Christmas, they would not be coming back to the country they had left. You have just helped turn it, another coouple degrees, into an authoritarian banana republic.”

    That was as civil as I could force myself to be, after several days of trying to calm down.

  • I’m with chopin.

    Along with the pathetic state of the MSM and guilible citizens = the reason for the dems caving on a lot of things

  • I, too, am extremely discouraged by the vote on FISA. It is an outrage to the American system. However, at my peril (on this site), I am going to present a different perspective.

    As much as I hate what has occurred, I return to the fact that the Dems do not yet have sufficient power in Congress to counteract all the violences that what this Republican administration has done. The Repubs spent twenty years or more building the power to do the things that their neocon “leaders” have now implemented. The Dems in 2006 won one election, took control of the House, but did not get enough seats in the Senate (due to cloture rules) to be able to force anything through without the help of close to 10 republican Senators. Not to mention the fact that the spoiled brat president will veto anything he doesn’t like.

    Fifteen months away is another election, a very important one. We need to expand Democratic control in the House; we need 60+ Democratic Senators; and we need a Democratic President. Between now and November 2008, everything that we do ought to be focused on those goals.

    So I say to all, treasure your outrage. Keep the fires burning. And begin to think of practical ways to spread this outrage in an ENDURING way and/or to hold back until the right time. We should keep the pressure on the Democratic leaders, but we should also keep our support up.

    The Repubs are scrambling scared. One thing that they would LOVE to see would be for the Dems to fall apart fighting among themselves. Another would be for the more fervent progressive activists to depart from the big tent.

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