Spy Lies

How do you know when a Bush administration official is lying? When their lips are moving.

Earlier this week, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell testified before Congress about the FISA law and the gutting of it changes that Congress made to it this summer. Explaining how it helps the administration to be free of those pesky warrants and oversight nonsense, McConnell cited a foiled plot in Germany recently as one example where being free of FISA helped them fight terror.

However, another government official informed the NY Times that was wrong... that the intelligence gathered on that case was collected a while ago under the un-changed FISA law, with its bothersome oversight and everything. Based on a request by Congress to clarify this, McConnell released a statement acknowleding this rebuttal as accurate. He stated that-

"[I]nformation contributing to the recent arrests was not collected under authorities provided by the Protect America Act."

The majority of the statement, though, was a reaffirmation of the importance of said Act.

These people are shameless and a disgrace to America.

And while the Republican Party leadership is actually-- with everything going on right now-- seeking a congressional resolution to condemn MoveOn.org over a controversial anti-Petraeus ad, the fact that the Director of National Intelligence knowingly mislead Congress over a key legal issue will likely amount to nothing.

It's this type of thing why today's young liberals/Democrats are so very, very angry.