Feingold Calls Out Intel Chief For Saying Dems Want To Imprison Bush

Senator Russ Feingold is calling the Director of National Intelligence out for telling what seemingly amounts to a massive exaggeration if not downright fabrication of the recent FISA debate in Congress.

In a speech at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina this past week, Vice Admiral Mike McConnell told a crowd that, during the debate over the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, members of Senate called for the outright abolition of the Intelligence Community and even the jailing of President Bush.

"We had a bill go into the Senate. It was debated vigorously," said McConnell. "There were some who said we shouldn't have an Intelligence Community. Some have that point of view. Some say the President of the United States violated the process, spied on Americans, should be impeached and should go to jail. I mean, this is democracy, you can say anything you want to say. That was the argument made. The vote was 68 to 29."

And yet, as Feingold notes, and as a review of the press coverage details, neither of the events McConnell refers to actually happened. The debate over FISA was spirited as Feingold and a minority of senators maneuvered to remove a provision granting telecommunications companies immunity for helping the government with warrentless wiretapping.

But as Feingold wrote in a letter to McConnell: "I am not aware of any Senator saying or suggesting that 'we shouldn't have an Intelligence Community' or that President Bush 'should be impeached and should go to jail.'"

In addition to penning the note to McConnell, Feingold has asked the Intelligence Director to produce actual evidence "of all statements made by Senators during the debate that you believe support [your] assertions."

A spokesman for Feingold said there was no timeline for when they expected a response.

Here is the complete text of Feingold's letter:

The Honorable J.M. McConnell Director of National Intelligence Washington, D.C. 20511

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Dear Director McConnell:

I have received a copy of your March 28, 2008, speech at Furman University. In it, you described Senate action on the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, stating:

"We had a bill go into the Senate. It was debated vigorously. There were some who said we shouldn't have an Intelligence Community. Some have that point of view. Some say the President of the United States violated the process, spied on Americans, should be impeached and should go to jail. I mean, this is democracy, you can say anything you want to say. That was the argument made. The vote was 68 to 29."

As you correctly noted, the bill was the subject of vigorous debate. Many members of the Senate expressed serious concerns about the lack of checks and balances included in the legislation and the potential impact of the new authorities on the privacy and civil liberties of Americans. Many Senators were also concerned that retroactive immunity for companies alleged to have cooperated with the President's warrantless wiretapping program would undermine the rule of law.

However, I am not aware of any Senator saying or suggesting that "we shouldn't have an Intelligence Community" or that President Bush "should be impeached and should go to jail." I would therefore appreciate your providing a list of all statements made by Senators during the debate that you believe support these assertions. If there are no such examples, you should issue an immediate correction and an apology.

While all sides of this debate deserve to be heard, to falsely attribute statements to United States Senators serves only to mislead the American people. It also undermines your credibility and that of the position of Director of National Intelligence.

Sincerely,

Russell D. Feingold
U.S. Senator

Comments

[gomonkeygo]

Send him to jail along with Bush.

[imusintheevening]

How about the International Criminal Court?

[Marlyn]

That won't work because buried somewhere in the Patriot Act is a statement that says the International Court at The Hague as no power over the USA.

[research]

Really Russ, you don't know ONE senator calling for Bush and Cheney impeachment?

Let's hope you are out of the loop.

The Permanent republican fascist majority is still moving forward toward a Hoover depression, so they can further dominate the peasants and avoid prosecution.

That is why Impeachment hearings are NEEDED, I could care less if the Senate rethugs block conviction, ...

Impeachment hearings are so necessary to put the BushCo fascists on the defensive:

to stop and reverse their forward momentum toward total control.

To stop the Iran War Crime from every starting

To end the Iraq War Crime,

To stop Torture, DOJ partisan justice, Orwellian surveillance, Looting of the treasury by war profiteering cronies, partisan MSM propaganda blitz, and god knows what else.

We need to strip away executive privilege and expose the fascist cronyism that has stained our democratic republic. We need to strip away the 1000's of lies and deceptions of Bush&Co.

House: start the Impeachment! posted

[Marlyn]

But Russ Feingold is in the Senate. If there is to be impeachment, it must come from the House of Representatives. Robert Wexler is heading that effort.

[research]

yes, I know that. I said that. that's not the point.

All the good senators should be publicly calling for Impeachment.

[bikerdude]

Let the impeachment trials decide whether Bush goes to jail or not. The congress owes it to the citizens of the United States to start the impeachment proceedings so that we will finally get George Bush and Dick Cheney to be accountable for their actions. I think they should pay back for the damage they have caused. The most important point is to formally hold them accountable. Up to now they have scoffed at any attempt to make them testify about the lies and misdirection they have done to lead us into a deadly, chaotic war, to badly damage our economy and to run rough-shod over our rights.

[njack]

This is a bit of info I received from the brother of an Air Force Academy educated engineer stationed in Afghanistan. The Director of Intel should be looking into why troops there are ordered to build bridges to nowhere and schools in the middle of nowhere without roads to them. They then return to find the bridges and schools they built bombed and useless (as if they were useful to begin with). Why is this continual waste of tax dollars happening? The troops don't understand why they build these things, but they have to follow orders to build.

[mommadona]

Thanks for posting that.

Not the first example.

It's called the ASS BACKWARDS project......how to start a war with no idea how to end it.

[austinobserver]

It was just a simple case of projection. McConnell was thinking that Bush should be impeached and go to jail and so he somehow got confused and associated those thoughts with the Senate debate. That's all.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Bush didn't lie about Iraq.

By jeersforfears

What flavor of Kool Aid do you like? For your information the neo-conservatives are the left, they are mostly descendents of a communist sprinter group influenced by Leon Trotsky. Manly Russian Jews who wanted to use Russia as a tool for an internationalist agenda and expelled from the communist party by Lenin. After finding a home in the US, they became what is often called the NEW LEFT. Bill Kristol’s father, Irving Kristol was a member of this movement. David Horowitz, a neo-con zelot who carries the banner for the far right wing and travels from university to university harassing the 1st amendment rights of professors is a self admitted former Communist, as were his parents. Mr. Horowitz was also a member of the Black Panthers in the 60’s. He claims that he did not know that Panthers had a militant agenda, funny, I knew it. All these former radicals found a home and political power in the Republican Party during the Regan revolution.

So jeersforfears dose that make your a Communist, a member of the New Left? My dad was a proud union Democrat who served this country with distinction and he was anything but liberal, except he had a live and let live point of view, 3 years of war sucks the hate out of man, I guess. So quite the stupid generalizations, I stopped drinking Kool Aid when I was 10, to sweet.

[ajpuckett]

Methinks DNI McConnell doth protest too much...

[GrainOSand]

So much for the characterization of Mike McConnell as an objective, nonpartisan interested only in the safety of America.

[blackrome]

Bush should have been placed in Jail the day they won Congress.

What are they waiting for.

That's a question I would love to ask Hillary or Obama.

Will you appoint an Attorney General that will look at the Crimes the Bush Administration has committed.

[Tmahnguyna]

Evidently the Short term memory loss of the american people has gotten much worse!!!!
There are alot of names to add.
wolfowitz, Rummy (throw in the whole "aspartame" CRIME) all the rest of the whole PNAC posse.
and Since Justice is being meted out ,clinton for that little china treason thingy!!!!!!
Oh Dreaming is FUN!!!!!!!

[Economike]

Pelosi would certianly never call for the impeachment of Bush. We all know that only too well.

[nomorebombs]

Rove as well to the gallows asap.

[MA]

Hey! maybe Vitter and McCain have more in common than we thought, although one's for fun the other for plain ole necessity!

[paixa3]

The real problem is that the Dems do not want JUSTICE. They have shirked their responsibilities.

I for one, DO WANT this war criminal filled administration at the Den Haag on trial for war crimes.

SCREW the useless congress.

[sschl727]

That a boy Russ! Damn, this guy makes me proud to be a Democrat.