Alberto Gonzalez' balls in a vice

After 9/11 President Bush Mr Bush authorised NSA to eavesdrop on US domestic electronic communications.By doing this he acted illegally by deliberately circumventing the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, requiring the government to seek a warrant from an intelligence court before it can spy on Americans.

On Wednesday the US Justice Department said that the President would not re-authorise the so-called Terrorist Surveillance Programme and that the Administration had reached an agreement whereby any electronic eavesdropping would in future be monitored by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court - ie they will now obey the law of the US. (By whom and who this agreement was made with and when we don't get told - but for the first time - the President is on the back foot****)

In a surprising but probably well rehearsed move Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter (The 1 bullet theory man of the JKF killing) , the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, told Alberto Gonzales, the US attorney-general, that more information was needed.

They asked Mr "Torture memo" Gonzales to provide them with the authorisation the administration received from the intelligence court and he refused. Pat Leahy responded sharply “Are you saying that you might object to the court giving us a decision that you publicly announced…Are we Alice in Wonderland here?”

A federal court last year ruled that the programme was unconstitutional, and told the President that there were “no hereditary kings” in America - Gonzalez lied brazenly claiming that the switch of policy by the Administration was not related to the results of the court case. However Leahy said ...“I welcome the President’s decision not to reauthorize the NSA’s warrantless spying program and instead to seek approval for all wiretaps from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, as the law has required for years."

Vermont Senator Leahy has taken the remarkable step of posting a lengthy statement on his website as a result of his crossing swords with AG Gonzalez.

"In the 32 years since I first came to the Senate – during the era of Watergate and Vietnam – I have never seen a time when our Constitution and fundamental rights as Americans were more threatened by their own government. Just this last weekend, the President and Vice President indicated that they intended to override the will of the American people, as expressed in the most recent national elections, and ignore actions of Congress in order to escalate the war in Iraq. This Administration has circumvented express congressional prohibitions on creating databanks of information on law-abiding Americans over the last five years."

He turns his attention to Human Rights .....

"We have a democratic government in which Congress is entitled to know and review government actions. The President and Vice President of the United States should not be operating a secret and separate regime in which their official acts and policies cannot be known by the people’s elected representatives.

The Administration’s secret policies have not only reduced America’s standing around the world to one of the lowest point in our history, but these policies also jeopardize the Department’s own efforts to prosecute terrorism. "

He turned his attention to Crime - especially in Iraq

"I am also deeply concerned that the Department of Justice is retreating from its core mission to hold those who would violate our criminal laws accountable. Last week, the President told us that he plans to spend $1.2 billion more, on top of the billions already sent to Iraq for reconstruction. Despite mounting evidence of widespread corruption, contracting fraud and billions unaccounted for, the Department of Justice has not brought a single criminal case against a corporate contractor in Iraq. "

Attorney General Gonzales, I thank you for agreeing to come here today. I look forward to hearing your views and answers to our questions. (You'd better believe it Alberto) We need to work together to move forward.

Listen here to the exchanges (npr)

The White House Retreat on NSA Surveillance: Puzzles Remaining
Peter Shane of Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University.....".James Bamford called his 1983 book about the National Security Agency “The Puzzle Palace.” Somebody should use the same name for a book about the 2007 White House." is how he starts his review of the apparent change of heart (and maybe procedures) by the National Security Agency’s so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP), program of warrantless electronic surveillance created by a (very) secret Presidential order in early 2002.

He admits however that the timing of Albert Gonzalez' welcome announcement is not puzzling - made just prior to the 1st Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Democratically led Congress - even if Pelosi is one of the AIPAC rats aboard - in a Congress newly led by the Democrats.

**** Back Foot - a cricketing term where the bowler has forced the batter to literally move backwards to play his shot, reducing his range of playable strokes and increasing the chances of leg before wicket, playing on to his wicket, an easy slip catch. Let's not kid ourselves they have been and will continue listening in without interruption - it might just make them think a little more carefully next time - and make sure they cover their tracks better.

Pic - Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), center, consults with Committee Ranking Member Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), left, and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) before a January 18 hearing about oversight of the Justice Department. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Committee to answer questions about privacy, the NSA domestic surveillance program, and other issues under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department.