Perhaps one of the most obvious reasons for the Bush/Cheney NSA spy ring can be found in the extra-legal activities of their favorite Texas son.
In 2003, Tom Delay, the ex-exterminator turned money launderer, began using the Department of Homeland Security as his personal surveillance team. And who was the Ham spying on using our tax dollars and without any oversight whatsoever?
Turns out Hammy was tracking Texas Democrats who had left Texas to break quorum on the yet another questionable piece of legislation.
"White House spokesman Scott McClellan said he had not been aware of reports that the federal agency had been enlisted to find the lawmakers.” (Source).
THE federal agency that is responsible for our national security is used for domestic spying by a member of Congress to spy on state legislatures and the White House is not aware of this? Is there anything the White House is aware of?
Apparently this is just another third-rate burglary gone unnoticed thanks to a corrupt House, which is unwilling to investigate itself or abuses of power committed by its members.
“House Sergeant-at-Arms Rod Welsh wrote Col. Tommy Davis of the DPS early Monday, asking him to secure the absent members "by any available means and including extradition if an absentee or absentees are outside the State of Texas."
Does any of this sound familiar yet? The abuse of power, the references to “terrorists” and to “national security” rings a bell, does it not? Read through the articles (and do your own research) to get a better sense of just how clearly illegal this was and see if you can locate, anywhere, any reference to legal action taken against anyone involved in this. Since this occurred three years ago, has anything other than an ethics slap on the wrist for Delay been done? If there have been any subsequent charges filed or any trials, I have yet to locate this information.
"Not since Richard Nixon and Watergate 30 years ago has anyone tried to use law enforcement for domestic political purposes," Rep. Frost said. "This is an abuse of criminal and terrorist fighting resources of the U.S. government for a domestic political matter…There should be a complete investigation." (Source).
If this is any indication on how team Bush/Cheney may be using the NSA, namely, to spy for political reasons, and if they are milking the tragedy of 911 in order to justify these dirty, rotten, illegal tricks, then we are clearly in the last throes of a democracy.
Consider that all of this information is classified and consider how easily one can use the “classified” label to bury abuses of power and cover up criminal activity. This is not only a question of civil liberties and the Constitution, nor is this a question of national security, this is at the center a question of high crimes and misdemeanors and a White House drunk on its own power.
On a side note, given the DHS’ obsession with spying on college students and clothing shop owners (the shop is actually HERE now), is there any wonder that they failed to do their job during Katrina and Wilma? More importantly even, since every intelligence agency is fixated on anti-war groups, dissenting voices, and on anyone not in the 37 percentile that approve of this administration, just who is tracking the terrorists?
Anyone?