Miscellaneous Thoughts On Gen. Hayden, The CIA, Hookergate

I certainly don't profess to be an expert on the CIA, other than the obvious... they do necessary work (gathering, analyzing intel) and do some decidedly illegal stuff (secret torture prisons, coups in South America) in the name of protecting us. However, I have been following the current saga over there- Goss out, Hayden in (?), Foggo out, Negroponte looming over- pretty closely. It makes for good soap opera. There's multiple scandals intersecting here and very little of it comes off as good news for the White House as I see it. Let's start with Gen. Hayden.

President Bush nominated Air Force Gen. Hayden to be the new head of the CIA. Bush said about Hayden that "He's the right man to lead the CIA at this critical moment in our nation's history." Say, what did Bush say about Porter Goss when he nominated him in late 2004? Ohh, it was "He's the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation's history." This time he means it!! Hat tip to John Stewart for that one.

This nomination is not likely to go smoothly. One issue is that, like Goss, Hayden has very close ties to the White House and would therefore be the latest in a long line of attempts by the White House to take control of previously independent agencies (Alberto Gonzales at the Justice Dept., etc). Agency independence is a concern.

Of primary concern, though, Hayden's connection to the NSA warrantless wiretapping program. Gen. Hayden was working at the NSA when the program was authorized and has been instrumental in defending it. His defense of the program- which the Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to find legally sound- raises questions on its own. In one statement, he dismissed the idea of getting retroactive warrants through FISA because of the paperwork involved and in other statements he refused to answer when asked if the President was using it to target his political enemies. Hmmmm. In one noteable exchange this past January with a Knight-Ridder reporter, Hayden was revealed to have been incorrect in his interpretation of the fourth amendment. He also lied to Congress in 2002 about the administration's activities in regards to the use of FISA.

This NSA program is illegal and almost assuredly unconstitutional. Most distressing to me is that the most basic questions about the program- which I discussed in detail in March- have yet to be answered by any official. Placing a man to head the CIA who has helped the White House to casually dismiss our basic constitutional values is unacceptable. The Democrats would do well to oppose him and to use the nomination process to get answers on these issues.

Sadly, the Republicans have once again beaten to the Democrats to the punch with their opposition to Hayden's nomination. The Republican opposition is based on their belief that you shouldn't place a military man in charge of a civilian agency. Adding to this are concerns that the move would therefore increase Sec. Rumsfeld and the Pentagon's control over the collection of intelligence. As the NY Sun notes, this "will pave the way for the agency's emasculation and for the Pentagon to assume full authority over paramilitary operations". This placement may even be illegal, at least until the Deputy Director (also a military man) is moved out of his position. That change is already underway. Some have speculated that the Republicans are merely using this issue to overshadow any complaints Democrats may raise based on the wiretapping issue. I'd say there's some definite truth to that, but no doubt the concerns about military influence on the CIA are legitimate and warranted as well.

In the end, I expect most Republicans will cave and Hayden will be confirmed by a close margin.

Moving onto Porter Goss, no official reason is still known his abrupt departure, though the official spin revolves around a power struggle with National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. That's likely part of it, but the more immediate reason likely revolves around Goss' alleged involvement in the so-called 'hookergate' scandal... It's a scandal involving defense contractors, the Watergate hotel, former Rep. Duke Cunningham, parties, bribes, favors, poker, and quite possibly hookers. Standard Washington DC corruption with a sexy twist. As Andrew Sullivan notes, "Even if Goss is exonerated completely of any direct connections to the poker games, hookers, and corrupt deals that Randy Cunningham is now explaining to the authorities, his closeness to the people who are makes the scandal that much more visible and that much more damaging to the White House." Hence, the cover story about a power struggle, which the media has accepted without question.

Josh Marshall, whose Talking Points Memo website helped break the 'hookergate' story, has an excellent analysis on the Goss resignation. Recommended read for a great overview of the scandal and its many connections. Further showing the legs this scandal has, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo- Goss' #3 man at the agency- resigned yesterday because he is under investigation for his role in all of this. The White House, of course, denies any connection between the two resignations, as if that will convince anyone. There are even new allegations that Gen. Hayden may have some connections to the scandal, althought not direct. Expect lots of news to come out on all of this (slowly) in the coming months.

All in all, probably not the way the White House expected to start off the week.