Marble Composition

Heavy Buckets

Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) is the chairman of the Intellignce Committee, and he carries so much water for the Bush administration it's staggering. After genuflecting before the Vice President, via the Daily Kos, we get this:

WASHINGTON - Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts said he has worked out an agreement with the White House to change U.S. law regarding the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program and provide more information about it to Congress.

"We are trying to get some movement, and we have a clear indication of that movement," Roberts, R-Kan., said.

Without offering specifics, Roberts said the agreement with the White House provides "a fix" to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and offers more briefings to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The deal comes as the committee was set to have a meeting Thursday about whether to open an investigation into the hotly disputed program. Roberts indicated the deal may eliminate the need for such an inquiry. Democrats have been demanding an investigation but some Republicans don't want to tangle the panel in a testy election-year probe.

So, in order to head off an investigation, the White House lobbies Roberts, they come up with some "fix" to the law, and it's a done deal. Presumably we'll find out what this little "fix" is when details about any proposed legislation modifying the FISA law are released, but right now it stinks to the high heavens.

It used to be that the Intelligence Committee was held out as a pillar of non-partisanship; members from both sides of the aisle working together in the nation's best interest. No more. Under Roberts, it has become a rubber stamp shop, a virtual extension of the administartion based in Congress.

If we were able to prosecute this administration using the RICO statutes, laws normally used to nab mobsters, Roberts would go down with them as chief enabler. He's nothing more than a cog in what mounting evidence shows is deeply corrupt, criminal organization.

I hope you Kansans are proud.

Update [2/18/06 09:19:00 PM]: Apparently the pressure on Roberts got to be too much. This from Kevin Drum:

FISA FLIP FLOP....Today's revealing quote of the day comes from Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. After switching course earlier this afternoon and deciding that he wants full briefings on the NSA's domestic spying program after all, he said this:

"I think it's the function and the oversight responsibility of the committee," he said, adding, "That might sound strange coming from me."

Yes, it does sound a bit strange coming from the Bush administration's biggest water carrier on the Hill. But it's welcome nonetheless. Apparently Roberts now feels not only that his committee should be briefed, but that the program itself should be overseen by the FISA court.

If Roberts follows up on this, then good for him. Better late than never.

That's a pretty big "if", but it does seem Ol' Pat is feeling the appropriate amount of shame over all this.

posted by FuzzFinger @ 2/16/2006 07:33:00 PM