Senate Republicans, Trying To Score Political Points, Claim Democrats Revealing Spying Scandal Puts Lives At Risk

from the insanity dept

Wed, Mar 12th 2014 2:13pm — Mike Masnick

The Senate/CIA spying scandal continues to get more and more ridiculous. The latest is that it's turning into a political fight between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, rather than what it really is: a Constitutional crisis concerning the separation of powers and the ability of Congress to oversee the executive branch's intelligence community. You would think that other Senators would line up behind Senator Feinstein's anger over the CIA directly spying on Senate Intelligence Committee staffers who were compiling a detailed report into the CIA's use of torture.

But, they're not. This first became clear when the top two Republicans on the Committee more or less spoke out against Feinstein:

Many of the Republicans on the intelligence committee didn't share her position. The panel's top Republican, Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, said he and Ms. Feinstein "have some disagreements as to what the actual facts are."

Others criticized her for airing her concerns so openly. "I personally don't believe that anything that goes on in the intelligence committee should ever be discussed publicly," said Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.).

Burr's comments are particularly chilling, as he's actually likely to replace Chambliss as the top Republican -- meaning that if the Republicans recapture the Senate, he's likely to take over Feinstein's job as the chair of the Intelligence Committee. Think about all the stonewalling the Committee currently does. Then picture the guy who said that quote above in charge.

And, in the last day it's gone even more haywire, as Burr and other Republicans are now trying to use this as a political gambit to claim that Senator Mark Udall (a Democrat and the one who really called attention to the CIA's actions) somehow leaked classified info in revealing the CIA's actions. According to Politico, even though Republicans have leaked far more info, they see this as a chance to attack Udall, a first term Democrat known for actually standing up for civil liberties and the rights of the public (how dare he):

Republicans say that not only has the committee’s chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), provided selective information to the public about improper CIA conduct, but they are also now pointing the finger at Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.).

The Colorado Democrat, Republicans say, shouldn’t have disclosed internal Senate proceedings over the CIA investigation — something that some Republicans privately say should warrant an ethics committee review.

Democrats counter that Republicans are now engaging in a partisan witch hunt aimed at hurting Udall politically and providing cover to the CIA and the George W. Bush’s administration’s handling of the controversial interrogation and detention program.

I've made it clear before few things annoy me more than partisan bickering in Congress (which is why we rarely even mention which party politicians belong to -- unless, as here, it's a part of the story). And this is a particularly stupid issue to have partisan bickering over. Senate Republicans really think that bashing Udall is a better strategy than making sure that they can have real oversight of the CIA without having the CIA spy on their own staff?

Besides even the arguments that Udall revealed sensitive information, or that it deserves an "ethics" review are incredibly weak. The concern stems from the letter Udall sent the President last week concerning the nomination of a new CIA General Counsel. In it, he mentioned the following:

As you are aware, the CIA has recently taken unprecedented action against the Committee in relation to the internal CIA review, and I find these actions to be incredibly troubling for the Committee's oversight responsibilities and for our democracy. It is essential that the Committee be able to do its oversight work -- consistent with our constitutional principle of the separation of powers -- without the CIA posing impediments or obstacles as it is today.

That reveals nothing that appears to be particularly sensitive or classified. Instead, it actually was general enough that it left many people scratching their heads. But to hear Senator Burr talk about it, he acts as if this information puts the lives of people at danger:

“I think Mark did make some public releases that were committee sensitive information, but that’s for the committee internally to handle,” said Burr. “That’s being reviewed right now.”

Burr added: “If you look historically, the committee has cleaned up any mistakes that members have made. Members can do whatever they want to. My concern is that the release of information could potentially causes the losses of life to Americans. That to me, is a threshold that should be addressed.”

Oh come on. Seriously? By mentioning the fact that the CIA searched the network of the Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, it means people will die? Who does he think he's kidding? We know that there are always ridiculous claims whenever there are intelligence community leaks about "lives in danger" (which almost never pan out to be true). But at least in those cases, there's an argument that could be made how the revelations might tie back to national security issues. There is no such thread here at all. This is not about the CIA spying on potential terrorists. It's about them spying on their overseers, and rather than recognize what this means for their own interests Senate Republicans are pretending that its putting people's lives at risk?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: democrats, dianne feinstein, mark udall, politics, republicans, richard burr, saxby chambliss, senate intelligence committee, spying scandal

19 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:20pm

Burr can't possibly be more of a mouthpiece shill for spying on Americans.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:27pm

The funny thing is Democrats said this too about Snowden, but now they have to do it themselves against CIA. Maybe next time they won't be so stupid to say that in the first place, especially when it's false.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:35pm

amazing how everyone is trying to get in on the act now. when it was the public, everywhere, being spied on, no one in Congress gave a toss!! funny how your outlook changes when you or someone specific you dont like, is in the spotlight.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:35pm

It doesn't matter even if they're right
Let's suppose that these ridiculous claims about endangering lives are actually correct.

Does it matter?

No. It does not.

Anyone who spies for a living KNOWS, up front, that they're putting themselves in the line of fire, and that disclosure of their identity/mission/location/etc. could mean their death, whether that disclosure comes from Congress or counter-espionage or double agents or just plain screwups.

That's the deal. And they willingly accept it.

So let's not have any whining about their lives: even if a thousand US agents are killed tomorrow, it doesn't matter: they're expendable, they know it, and they volunteered to be so.

And kudos to them for being brave enough to do that. What a pity that some in Congress can't demonstrate even a fraction of that bravery and accept that this is how things are and must be.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
saulgoode (profile), 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:37pm

By mentioning the fact that the CIA searched the network of the Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, it means people will die?
I don't see where Sen. Udall even mentioned that much. All he stated in his letter was that the CIA had taken unprecedented action of some sort. Hardly revealing at all (perhaps they refused to serve meatloaf in the cafeteria).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Michael, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:48pm

Small government?
'"I personally don't believe that anything that goes on in the intelligence committee should ever be discussed publicly," said Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.).'

Remember when Republicans were the party of Small Government?

Me neither.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:50pm

This is exactly what has me totally against both parties now in power. It isn't about governing, it's about a political pissing match off.

This is really demonstrated by the fact that no one in congress gave a hoot about all this spying on the American public. It only became an issue where low-n-behold you're doing this to congress. Suddenly they get the concern about spying but no where is it important that the public should not be susceptible to this either.

Neither party in power deserves to remain in power and the consent to govern should be removed from what now claims to represent the voters.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:56pm

Lives at RIsk
I've got a couple of things that put lives at risk:

1. Living, it is a fact that everybody dies, so living is the number one activity that can cause death.

2. Driving cars, somewhere someone has the numbers of automobile related deaths, and I bet they far exceed those of killed agents, and or maybe even deaths from war related activities.

3. Taking medications that have a long list of risk factors, including death, but we take them anyway.

4. Joining the military and volunteering for front line action.

5. Standing up to a cop in many large cities and small villages.

6. Crossing the street.

I am sure there are a lot more outstanding candidates, and the comments from these partisan politicians demeans every one of them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 3:35pm

"I don't think that anything that goes on in the intelligence community should ever be discussed publicly".

So if the intelligence community starts to raid peoples homes at night, and imprison them, or just goes though all their belongings, and takes their guns, that's something NO ONE should talk about openly? Secret police acting in secret should never be discussed openly?

Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.), remember the name, and if you live in North Carolina, make damn sure his next job after the elections involves a paper hat, and a a deep fryer.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
avideogameplayer, 12 Mar 2014 @ 3:42pm

I'd laugh my ass off if all of a sudden the staffers become the next bunch of Snowdens...

I can just imagine what kind of docs released...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 4:08pm

So the Repubs have issues with lives being put in danger from exposure of classified info?

Why didn't they pull that issue out of the hat when Bush was in office and the Valery Plame affair came up?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 4:49pm

Watch as the cockroaches scurry to safety after someone flipped on the light in the intelligence.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 8:28pm

Anytime time you question a national security maximalist, you're potentially putting lives at risk. That's rule number one in the playbook.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
zip, 12 Mar 2014 @ 9:06pm

Re:
And the same is true for anyone who dares suggest cutting the mega-bloated military budget (from whatever level it happens to currently be); to do so will cost American lives.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
David, 13 Mar 2014 @ 12:05am

Burr is quite right:

"My concern is that the release of information could potentially causes the losses of life to Americans. That to me, is a threshold that should be addressed."
By mentioning the fact that the CIA searched the network of the Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, it means people will die? Who does he think he's kidding?

The penalty for treason is, indeed, the death penalty. And while the possibility seems to be of mostly theoretical nature, it is not entirely inconceivable that the law could actually be applied to members of the ruling/controlling hegemony in rare cases.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Reality bites, 13 Mar 2014 @ 7:14am

Darth Cheney anyone?
So the evil clown cheney can expose CIA operatives and that's good for the country.

GOP = Greedy Oppressive Parasites... the only thing dumber than a gop is a gop supporter.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
R.H. (profile), 13 Mar 2014 @ 8:16am

Re: Re:
Even when that someone is the Secretary of Defense or a General/Admiral on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
An Onymous, 13 Mar 2014 @ 9:41am

Obviously, the lives in danger are those of the Senate staffers. Having gone against the CIA, they're now at risk of being shot by snipers who are mysteriously never caught . . .
[ link to this | view in thread ]
GEMont (profile), 13 Mar 2014 @ 1:24pm

Which "people" are at risk?
"Senate Republicans are pretending that its putting people's lives at risk?"

Again, using semantics, they are telling the truth.

In this case, the people at risk happen to be the republicans themselves. Thus, People's lives ARE at risk.

Should the truth ever come out about how they eliminated the whole democratic party and supported the black mail and dirty tricks campaigns, they could easily lose their incomes - and to the very rich, losing one's income is the equivalent of losing one's life.
[ link to this | view in thread ]