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McConnell Retracts Dubious FISA Claim
This won't help Adm. Mike McConnell's flagging credibility on Capitol Hill. On Monday, in response to questioning from Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), McConnell, the director of national intelligence, proudly claimed a victory for the new Protect America Act -- the broad new surveillance law McConnell helped push through Congress last month that revised the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. McConnell claimed that three German terrorism suspects arrested last week for plotting to blow up nightclubs frequented by U.S. military personnel had come to the attention of German authorities thanks to U.S. intercepts made possible by the new law.
Only one problem: it had been widely reported that the suspects had been under surveillance for months. The Protect America Act wasn't even a month old at the time of their arrest. Almost immediately, intelligence officials queried by Newsweek's Mike Isikoff and Mark Hosenball backtracked on McConnell's dubious statement.
Yesterday, bowing to pressure, McConnell released this statement retracting his claim:
During the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on September 10, 2007, I discussed the critical importance to our national security of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and the recent amendments to FISA made by the Protect America Act. The Protect America Act was urgently needed by our intelligence professionals to close critical gaps in our capabilities and permit them to more readily follow terrorist threats, such as the plot uncovered in Germany. However, information contributing to the recent arrests was not collected under authorities provided by the Protect America Act.
This isn't the first time McConnell has issued hyperbolic statements about surveillance. In an August interview with the El Paso Times, McConnell said that "some Americans are going to die"
as the result of alleged intelligence disclosures made during the Congressional debate on reforming FISA -- before proceeding to, well, disclose previously-unknown intelligence. For good measure, McConnell said that it takes 200 man-hours to prepare a FISA warrant for a single phone number. Ryan Singel of Wired crunched the numbers and found that ratio would have meant government employees worked for 50,000 days just in 2006 to prep that year's warrant haul.
McConnell has come under heavy criticism from Hill Democrats for what they consider his bad-faith negotiations during the FISA debate. At a Council on Foreign Relations address, Rep. Jane Harman, the former top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, urged McConnell to "please stop undermining the authority of your office."
On Tuesday and Thursday, McConnell is scheduled to address two key House panels -- the Judiciary and Intelligence committees -- as they debate rolling back the Protect America Act. Expect them to grill him until he comes out medium-well as to why he said the act was responsible for the arrest of the Germans. Already HJC chairman John Conyers has asked (pdf) for an explanation.
Comments (33)
TomJ wrote on September 13, 2007 11:31 AM:It may be the first time McConnell has issued hyperbolic statements, but isn't this the first time that anyone in this administration has admitted to making a "mistake?"
oldtree wrote on September 13, 2007 11:37 AM:I have always been a liar, mike
Anonymous wrote on September 13, 2007 12:01 PM:Even if it actually took 50,000 man-days per year, that amounts to 200 people working full time. If, as Boehner has suggested, a cost of thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars is
Son of Defarge wrote on September 13, 2007 12:06 PM:"a small price" to stop Al Qaeda, then employing 200 people to maintain constitutional freedoms seems even smaller.
Scrap the 3 Strikes & Yer Out attitude for public figures like McConnell. Make it one lie and down you go. At least we'll save time.
bob wrote on September 13, 2007 12:08 PM:Why do they only selectively care about American lives? American lives seem to matter when it allows them to expand executive authority, but certainly not when it comes time to judge whether we should stay in Iraq.
Phonies.
Anonymous wrote on September 13, 2007 12:10 PM:Obviously for the same reason they want to put lipstick on a pig, when it comes to the troop rotations coming to an end.
Tonite GWB is going on TV to announce troop reductions because of the surge WORKING! And not because it's time to rotate the troops home.
It's all because of all the success in Iraq. Not because they're time is up.
jeez, what does it take convince people??????
scribe wrote on September 13, 2007 12:21 PM:Let's put it this way: McConnell told a serious whopper.
The German police had this plot thoroughly infiltrated for quite a while before the arrests were made.
How thoroughly?
Well, German media reported that the terrists were planning to make their explosives with hydrpgen peroxide, and to that end had come up with 730 kg or so of high-strength (35%) peroxide. They stored it in barrels in the garage of the country house they were using - and where the main raid took place.
German police were aware of this and, back in July, while the terrists were out of the house, executed a break-in and removed the high-strength hydrogen peroxide and substituted ordinary hair-bleaching strength (3%) hydrogen peroxide in the barrels in the garage. Then, they continued to watch and gather wool until the arrests.
So, not only did they know about the plot long before "new FISA" was even written, they had done an epic black-bag job over a month before Congress got a chance to capitulate.
I'm of the opinion that the arrests took place in Germany when they did not out of the plot being an immediate threat (the ordinary 3% peroxide was useless for bomb-making, apparently) but becuase of internal German politics. Their interior minister had taken a beating in criticism at the CDU/CSU party meeting because of "unprofessionalism" and "Chaos" in his ministry. The party meeting ended like, Saturday or Sunday. The arrests were Monday. Do the math.
Michael wrote on September 13, 2007 12:27 PM:I'm of the o
Is there anyone in this criminal administration that tells the truth? It is utterly amazing the lies and deception. Where is the media? Why don't they treat these liars like they are liars, fact check everything and don't give them a free pass on a gd thing? I want to see some jail time. He committed perjury, he did not "make a mistake." Let's start setting examples. This is pathetic.
SPENCER wrote on September 13, 2007 12:47 PM:Something else is going on here; no official currently working under Bush has never admitted to a mistake before; McConnell has a good reputation amongst intel officials for being a stand-up guy.
Now this happens; there's a lot of screaming going on right now at the WH; either McConnell out and out lied or the White House kept something from him; either way, Congress better start rescinding the Protect America Act, as in today!
John Singer Sargent wrote on September 13, 2007 12:58 PM:When intelligence and security are run by persons who abandon their professions to chase power or the prevailing ideological wind... you end up with neither intelligence or security.
Six weeks ago, McConnell had been part of a bi-partisan effort to create a consensus over the "Protect America Act". His efforts were swatted aside by Our Sainted War Leader -- publicly, with McConnell having to stand and listen in front of the cameras.
Was the good Admiral trying now to get back in the good graces of the Imperial Leader by blurting out something as fact -- which could be so easily fact-checked by a twelve-year-old at a library computer with Firefox? Man must be desperate.
EH wrote on September 13, 2007 12:58 PM:Oh please, members of this administration have been submitting "followup clarifications" for ages. That McConnell's was focused on one particular embellishment seems non-newsy.
I have to wonder if the Germans complained. I'd love to see what they'd come up with as a public rebuke if McConnell hadn't "corrected."
looseleaf wrote on September 13, 2007 1:11 PM:Is it possible that US intelligence participation was in fact helpful, but that it was illegal at the time, (ie, at some point prior to the "new FISA"), so that he would prefer to retract the statement and make it appear that he had "misspoken" previously, rather than admit that illegal/unauthorized methods had been employed?
wstander wrote on September 13, 2007 1:40 PM:How does this subsequent statement qualify as a "retraction"? It certainly contradicts the statement made at the hearing, but it doesn't fit my definition of a "retraction". Does the word "retraction" mean something different in the US than it does up here in Canada?
Mark Richards wrote on September 13, 2007 1:41 PM:"Protect America Act" my ass. All LIARS should be FIRED. And all traitors to our precious Constitution should stand trial.
Period.
Anonymous wrote on September 13, 2007 1:42 PM:The important thing to remember here is that we now have a congress who promised to make government accountable and transparent, so let's just wait and see what consequences this clown pays for lying...
Henk wrote on September 13, 2007 1:46 PM:"What do you mean, it's off the table!!!"
These fuckers lie lie lie. Why anyone takes anything that comes from the Bush administration seriously is beyond me. But I can understand why they do it: There are never any consequences.
anonymous wrote on September 13, 2007 1:47 PM:McConnell might be the odious mouthpiece, but Liarman was the instigator and deserves equal condemnation for vigorously and with deceptive intent eliciting the information from McConnell.
Jolly Ranchero wrote on September 13, 2007 1:58 PM:Of course this wasn't a LIE. It was a MISSTATEMENT. From now on, I'm going to "misstate" my intentions to not drink, to stay away from nudie bars, and not bet on football.
FWIW, does the CIA/NSA own a "misstatement detector"?
jeffgee wrote on September 13, 2007 2:10 PM:Whattya bet the WH yanked his chain after he said that.
jeffgee wrote on September 13, 2007 2:10 PM:Whattya bet the WH yanked his chain after he said that.
Duckman GR wrote on September 13, 2007 2:13 PM:Unless they were using the new FISA rules BEFORE Congress stupidly passed that new FISA abomination, in which case they, the Feds, have been violating our rights and Congress just gave them cover by passing the law.
And that seems more likely to me than that he was blowing his horn.
johnd wrote on September 13, 2007 3:04 PM:Isn't lying to congress a crime? Why isn't the Justice department being asked to indict? We have a crime and a confession.
drdweeb wrote on September 13, 2007 5:54 PM:Wonder if Magic Lantern is picking all this up?
looseleaf wrote on September 13, 2007 6:56 PM:I agree that "retraction" may not have been the best word, although it doesn't seem far-fetched to suggest that the statement seems artfully crafted to appear as if its retracting something when on a closer reading it is consistent with saying something like: "well,it didn't happen exactly that way,but it could have happened some other way". Or: saying that it was not "collected under the authorities provided by the Protect America act" is not the same thing as saying that it was not collected.
sanfelipebob wrote on September 13, 2007 7:16 PM:And I agree that whichever is the case, he cannot be said to have been telling "the truth" in his testimony.
200 people working 40 hours per day, 52 weeks equals 416000 man hours. Guess anon. learned his math from the repubs.
sanfelipebob wrote on September 13, 2007 7:20 PM:Thats 40 hours per week, oopps..
Roberta wrote on September 13, 2007 7:27 PM:I think lying has simply become pathological. A few years ago, Administration lies kept people from suspecting how bad things were. Then, as activities and abuses came to light, more lies "explained" them or at least diverted some attention from focusing on them.
But so much is out now--or at least revealed enough to piss people off--that it seems like a constant tap dance to cover many asses.
Whether McConnell thought he'd make FISA being neutered look good or just perpetuate the illusion that American intelligence is second to none doesn't matter. I think it's now a knee-jerk reaction to tell lies, even when there's no perceived gain in lying.
I almost (I said ALMOST) don't care who's elected in 2008; I just want never to have to hear from any of this Administration ever again.
OCPatriot wrote on September 13, 2007 8:11 PM:Why hasn't he been charged with making false statements to the Congress? Why hasn't the Congress played hardball with this guy? Saying he misspoke after the fact is chicken s--t, and letting him get away with it is playing the victim all over again.
johnd wrote on September 13, 2007 9:25 PM:I must be too unhinged about today's partisan politics to think straight. Everyone else here knows Republican's lie all the time, but feel it's crazy to think that when a high ranking Bush appointee admits to lying to Congress after being caught red handed, and doesn't resign in disgrace, they then should be investigated, charged and hopefully tried an convicted.
Here's a hypothetical scenario from my world.
I get call to go a jobsite to fix an air conditioner. On my way home I stop in at the supply house to buy a $200 tool that would come in real handy around my house.
When my boss asks me how things are going I say "Great, I was able to fix up that air conditioner most efficiently with that new gadget I got on the way to the job!"
My boss happens to notice that the supply house prints the time of purchase on their invoice and it's after the job was done.
Boss has a minion call and shitcan me, witholding last paycheck unless forced by state dept. of labor to pay me.
johnd wrote on September 13, 2007 9:55 PM:Sorry, can't seem to let this go. McConnell when faced with having told a lie that he then realized was quite obviously false, quickly changed his statement with the intent of further diminishing the severity of the crime. People have a natural tendency to forgive disgressions that appear inconsequential, attempted in the open and quickly atoned for.
There's another school of thought on this though. Ny buddy tells the story of the shipyard worker who was stopped at the gate when leaving his shift with a roll of toilet paper in his hand. The worker said "I'm so sorry here take it back, I didn't even leave the yard" and was then summarily fired.
His co workers were incredulous. They wondered how could you fire a guy over that? He was stealing something that was practically worthless and he wasn't even hiding it.
The managment's answer was dead on though. Anyone who'd steal toilet paper, would steal anything.
steambomb wrote on September 14, 2007 8:00 AM:WTF! Does McConnell have any clue as to what this is all about? This is our damn civil liberties. Does he care at all about the gravity of this situation? Code word step. As in one step closer to a totalitarian government.
brantl wrote on September 14, 2007 9:57 AM:"200 people working 40 hours per day, 52 weeks equals 416000 man hours. Guess anon. learned his math from the repubs.
Posted by: sanfelipebob
Date: September 13, 2007 7:16 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thats 40 hours per week, oopps..
Posted by: sanfelipebob
Jane wrote on September 15, 2007 9:07 AM:Date: September 13, 2007 7:20 PM "
Your real 'oops' Bob, is thinking that people work 52 weeks a year. Ever hear of a 'vacation'? See, most people get 2 weeks of paid vacation a year. That's where the '50' came in, you see 52 weeks in a year MINUS 2 weeks vacation leaves 50. Glad that I can clear that up for you.
Nobody believes that that many people put in that many hours: man is lying. There must be something in the water the Publicans drink. Or the koolaid.