The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce

Since impeachment in response to the high crimes and misdemeaners from the NSA spying is the original motivation for the repository, we should go back to the future again. Recall our 544th post and this section of FISA.

Now we have it that there was a related program, which is also illegal under FISA, but that if actually existing eliminates the potential perjury charges against Gonzales. Now, I still don't understand why there are no charges being brought under FISA, except of course, that the AG would have to appoint the special counsel to do it. Or the democrats would have to start impeachment hearings, which they consider politically unwise. So here we are 18 months later, with no answers and a bunch of BS congressional testimony.

The Times article sites 6 former and current Justice Department officials anonymously:

WASHINGTON, July 28 — A 2004 dispute over the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance program that led top Justice Department officials to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases, according to current and former officials briefed on the program.

It is not known precisely why searching the databases, or data mining, raised such a furious legal debate. But such databases contain records of the phone calls and e-mail messages of millions of Americans, and their examination by the government would raise privacy issues.

The N.S.A.’s data mining has previously been reported. But the disclosure that concerns about it figured in the March 2004 debate helps to clarify the clash this week between Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senators who accused him of misleading Congress and called for a perjury investigation.