We probably all owe a debt of thanks to former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, and not just because of his career of public service.
About a month ago, Comey’s startling testimony reignited interest in Bush’s warrantless wiretap program and added key details — such as the fact that he and dozens of other Justice Department officials were so convinced of the program’s illegality that they were prepared to resign over it.
His revelations, thankfully, reminded the political establishment not only of serious White House wrongdoing, but also of just how little we know about the extent to which the administration broke the law. These questions came up years ago, when the NSA warrantless-search program was first revealed, but Republicans don’t believe in oversight of Republican presidents, so the questions remained unanswered.
Fortunately, times have changed.
The Senate Judiciary Committee just voted 13-3 to authorize chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to issue subpoenas for documents related to the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) voted with the Democrats on the committee to authorize the subpoenas for any legal opinions and advice the Bush administration has received regarding the NSA program.
The Center on Democracy & Technology has released a list of the seven “most wanted surveillance documents.” See the full list here.
The confrontation over the documents “could set the stage for a constitutional showdown over the separation of powers.” The Senate Judiciary Committee had previously scheduled to authorize subpoenas last week, but Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) blocked the Judiciary Committee from voting on the subpoenas.
By any reasonable measure, the administration practically dared Leahy to act. Today’s vote was inevitable — and bound to shake things up a bit.
The Senate Judiciary Committee asked for materials nine times, and nine times the administration stonewalled. It’s much harder to stonewall a subpoena.
From Leahy’s office (written shortly before the subpoena vote):
This stonewalling is unacceptable and it must end. If the Administration will not carry out its responsibility to provide information to this Committee without a subpoena, we will issue one. If we do not, we are letting this Administration decide whether and how the Congress will do its job. The Judiciary Committee is charged with overseeing and legislating on constitutional protections and the civil liberties of Americans, and the warrantless electronic surveillance program directly impacts these responsibilities.
Instead of responses, our attempts to get straight answers from the Administration have met with stubborn refusals of our legitimate oversight requests. This is information we need, we should have, and whose production is long overdue. We are asking not for intimate operational details but for the legal justifications and analysis underlying these programs that affect the rights of every American. […]
Why has this Administration been so steadfast in its refusal? Deputy Attorney General Comey’s account suggests that some of these documents would reveal an Administration perfectly willing to ignore the law. Is that what they are hiding?
Whatever the reason for the stonewalling, this Committee has stumbled in the dark for too long, attempting to do its job without the information it needs. We need this information to carry out our responsibilities under the Constitution. Unfortunately, it has become clear that we will not get it without a subpoena.
Stay tuned.