Jello Jay Rockefeller's "Deal"

by emptywheel

There are two key details from this article on the "deal" "negotiated" between Jay Rockefeller and Dick Cheney. First, a comment from Dana Perino states that the SSCI had to first accede to telecom immunity before they could see the documents justifying the program.

Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, said Friday that the Senate Intelligence Committee had gained access to the documents only after its leaders had indicated that they would grant immunity to the phone and Internet companies.

“To the extent of anyone else being able to see the documents,” Ms. Perino said, “I think that we’ll wait and see who else is willing to include that provision in the bill.”

And Cheney tried to withhold the documents until after the immunity had already passed. This is some new kind of oversight, in which you have to first agree that any oversight won't matter before you're allowed to exercise that oversight. I'm curious how the terms were left, when the SSCI Senators and staffers got to review the document. Would the Administration have accused Jello Jay of bad faith if, after reviewing the documents, he decided immunity was improper after all?

The article also explains that Kit Bond--and not Mike McConnell--negotiated the "deal" with Dick Cheney.

The White House negotiated the bill primarily through Christopher S. Bond of Missouri, the leading Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a staunch ally in efforts to broaden the N.S.A.’s wiretapping authority. Officials said that while Mr. Rockefeller had had some direct dealings with the director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, and other administration officials, it was Mr. Bond who had acted as the main liaison to the White House on the issue.

You might ask why Jello Jay was willing to let the Administration go through Kit Bond in the first place, rather than insisting that Dick deal with the majority directly, but it'd probably be pointless to even ask. What I'm most interested about is that McConnell was left out of this process. That's because McConnell has repeatedly asserted that he has no frigging clue about the illegal aspects of the domestic wiretapping from before it was placed under FISC oversight this January, just as he ascended to the DNI post. If Kit Bond--and not McConnell--managed this negotiation, it may mean he continues to remain ignorant of details of the earlier program. All of which begs the question--why is the Administration going to such lengths to compartment the current DNI out of knowledge of the programs earlier incarnation?

Comments

[P J Evans]

Someone remind me why we helped elect Dems last year? It seems all of them have forgotten it, because they are, most of them, busy being shills as big as any of the GOoPers ever were.

(Pelosi is now papering over Pete Stark's remarks on the floor this week; they apparently were too harsh for her tender ears.)

[Elliott]

P J Evans --

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

[orionATL]

i love the "jello jay" tag.

hope you keep it going.

it's well deserved ridicule - and ridicule can really hurt a politician. hope that's true of this craven.

[radiofreewill]

"(W)hy is the Administration going to such lengths to compartment the current DNI out of knowledge of the programs earlier incarnation?"

It suggests that when Bush agreed to bring the Program under the FISC in January of '07, he was given By Rockefeller, in return, a Free Pass for all prior activities in exchange for 'allowing' FISC review going forward - it was an 'Immunity Deal' for BushCo - which Bush reminded Jay of this week - "Hey Jay, you gave me Immunity back in January, now I want you to Re-Affirm My Immunity before we talk about the Telcos."

So, Immunity in Hand, Bush is back to cover his buddies, the Telco's, with the same Deal he got - and all he had to do was go to Rockefeller and say, "A deal's a Deal, Jay. You can't hold me harmless, and not those who acted under my direction, too. Put the Telco Immunity in there, or I'll re-consider my noble gesture of 'letting' the Program be reviewed by FISC."

"Here, Jay, I'll even help you out - I'll let you see The Portions of My Order for the Program, but only the bare minimum, that show I compelled the Telcos to cooperate blindly with me. You oughta not have any problem with that - you gave me Immunity, now you'll give it to my Agents, too, see? It's only fair."

So, having a DNI that 'knows nothing' - like Sgt. Schultz McConnell - about the prior incarnations of the Program is to both Bush's and Jello Jay's advantage.

These one-way backroom deals have got to Stop. Reid, Rockefeller, Pelosi, Reyes and anyone else who is 'negotiating' on Our behalf, in Secret, with BushCo is complicit in the Circumvention of the Rule of Law to 'legitimize' the Unitary Executive.

[Mad Dogs]

I would suggest that the "immunity deal" both back in January and now with the pending FISA legislation is not primarily for the Telcos.

Junya and Deadeye couldn't care less whether the Telcos are hung out to dry or not. Crocodile tears in the Administration have flowed quite readily over those poor, poor Telcos.

The "immunity deal" is primarily a "cover" for giving the Administration a pass on their own criminal violations of the FISA law.

Junya and Deadeye are insisting on Telco retroactive immunity only as the mechanism to deliver said "immunity" to themselves.

Additionally, the motivation to have Congress provide said "immunity" rather than Junya using his own "pardon" powers is meant to make Congress accomplices and accessories after the fact in the criminal violations of FISA.

And Jello Jay happily obliges by downing more Administration Kool-Aid with his Jello. Jello Jay, snookered again, and lovin' it.

[mamayaga]

P.J.--

Pelosi is now papering over Pete Stark's remarks on the floor this week; they apparently were too harsh for her tender ears

I just sent Madame a very pointed email about this here:
AmericanVoices@ mail.house.gov

We probably can't stop her and Steny and Jello Jay doing what comes most naturally to the spineless, but at least we can let them know it doesn't make them popular.

[cboldt]

I think the amnesty (retroactive immunity) is a bit of both, care and feeding of the telecom helpers, and political ass covering.

There is no way that President Bush (or any other president in the future, for that matter) is going to be held criminally or civilly liable for breaking FISA, assuming the surveillance does just that. Not even if he was surveilling political enemies. The Church Committee uncovered all sorts of nasty tricks, and the only reactions were scorn and more legislation for future actors to ignore.

Congress has no more genuine interest in personal rights than the administration does. They confuse legislation with action, and by the tenor of the legislation they pass (mandatory SSN on ID, REAL ID Act, need for approved government-issued ID in order to work, travel or purchase, etc.), it's abundantly clear that Congress is actively ANTI-privacy -- at least as between the individual and the state.

[selise]

also this from the same article:

During a long committee debate behind closed doors Thursday, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, proposed an amendment to strip the immunity provision from the bill. But it was defeated on a 12-to-3 vote, with only Mr. Wyden and one other Democrat, Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, joining Mr. Nelson.

so, this means that sheldon whitehouse didn’t just vote for the entire bill - he specifically voted for telco immunity? am i the only one who's surprised by this? i thought we could count on the support of whitehouse on "rule of law" and administration abuses.

[Hugh]

I don't understand why you think that McConnell has not been read into these programs. He almost certainly has been. The last time the Democrats tried to make a deal with McConnell they got blindsided by the White House. Jay-lo at his Senate site made a big deal of how nifty and bipartisan this all was and how he had been working hand in glove with Bond. It is unsurprising then that this time around Jay-lo's BFF Bond went directly to the source. What is interesting is that source was Cheney and not anyone in the President's office.

[bmaz]

I feel like a broken record saying this, but I STILL have not heard any reason to believe that Jello Jay and his ambrosia salad like cohorts that were so generously allowed by the Administration to look at the family jewels, actually saw ALL of the pertinent memos, opinions and justifications that comprise the totality of what the Administration has done, and is doing. And i damn sure have not seen any indication that they were adequately briefed on the nature and circumstance of all the program(s) they were being applied to; which really is the crux of the matter.

Selise - Yeah, I was a little shocked at that as well. Pretty easy to see DiFi; but Whitehouse? All I can figure is that, you know, he is a prosecutor at heart; and prosecutors love this kind of stuff. I know that sounds a little cynical, but it is the only thing that quickly came to mind. I hope there is a much better explanation; but I seriously doubt that it is because all the things BushCo has been doing are just hunky dory after seeing their Yoo like spew of self serving documents, and not all of those, per the above, at that. I will say this much, irrespective of what Whitehouse's motivations were, I can flat out tell you that it is a common tick of the prosecutorial mindset to like stuff like wiretaps and other invasions of privacy; it just makes their jobs easier.

[Lisa]

And the nightmare continues. Every angle of this--Cheney's continued usurpation of power, Jello Jay's recent campaign donations from the telecos, more secret deals, Whitehouse(?!?!?!) not voting with Feingold and Wyden, Bush getting everything he wants at 24%--it's simply maddening. I'm convinced that the information Cheney and Rove must have gotten from spying on all these these people over the last 6 years has to be the reason why Congress is entirely ineffectual and so easily bribed. How else can you explain the entire breakdown of oversight and rational thought?

[Lisa]

And the nightmare continues. Every angle of this--Cheney's continued usurpation of power, Jello Jay's recent campaign donations from the telecos, more secret deals, Whitehouse(?!?!?!) not voting with Feingold and Wyden, Bush getting everything he wants at 24%--it's simply maddening. I'm convinced that the information Cheney and Rove must have gotten from spying on all these these people over the last 6 years has to be the reason why Congress is entirely ineffectual and so easily bribed. How else can you explain the entire breakdown of oversight and rational thought?

[William Ockham]

McConnell led the team that designed this program:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB24/nsa25.pdf

[selise]

it is a common tick of the prosecutorial mindset to like stuff like wiretaps and other invasions of privacy; it just makes their jobs easier.

bmaz - yeah, but illegal wiretaps?

i really wanted to think well of whitehouse.

[EH]

Lisa: How about a "Rightmare?"

[bmaz]

Selise - Yeah, I dunno; its the best I could come up with for a confounding proposition. You get pretty jaded when you ply the depths of an active practice in criminal law for a long period of time; whether you are a prosecutor or defense lawyer. Legality and propriety can easily become a function of what side of the fence you are straddling. That I can easily assure you from my own experience. Whether or not this is any part of Whitehouse's deal, I have no idea; but I would not be totally shocked if it was at least part of the equation although I hope not. He was very aggressive on the US Atty issue; but, really, that is protecting prosecutors, and may not necessarily mean he is a bleeding heart liberal/progressive across the board. I hope so, but this vote speaks volumes to me; so we shall see.

[Kevin Hayden]

Based on the 12-3 committee vote, someone was absent. I sure hope it was Sheldon Whitehouse, but the list of sellouts really depresses me.

[radiofreewill]

WO - As I understand that Dec. 2000 pdf, it says that Groundbreaker is an out-sourcing project to be awarded to a Contractor. Is that how you read it?

If so, which Prime Contractor got it? Almost certainly a backbone-communications providing Telco had to be involved as a sub-contractor, right? An outfit who could 'plug-in' to geographically scattered Local/Regional/International Switchrooms and 'split-off' the signal to the National CyberCenter, run by the Contractor in question.

Presumably, the Prime Contractor would have an interest in the Immunity issue, too? I wonder who that Contractor was/is? What if it was/is a Giant Global investment group like Haliburton or Bechtel or the Carlyle Group some other notorious BushCo/CIA/DoD front-company?

[tekel]

why is the Administration going to such lengths to compartment the current DNI out of knowledge of the programs earlier incarnation?

Because the earlier incarnation was explicitly illegal, and concealing knowledge of illegal activity is a federal crime. If McConnel doesn't have personal knowlege, he can't testify against them.

[sailmaker]

Tekel - I guess I need a good civics class or something. I can not see how this non-reading-in of a director on programs can be legal or even functional from a managerial point of view. Any ideas on how to stop this stuff? Heads need to roll, but can Congress do it or the Inspector General?

[T, Gray]

"Jello Jay Pillowfeller"

[Pete Pierce]

I doubt the current DNI is out of the loop. I think reality is more banal; as long as they continue to gut the Constitution, Addington, Cheney, and Fielding could care less who gets it done. They have one unflagging premise--for a number of the worst reasons possible the Democrats will continue to be the Cavocrats.

As everyone here has recognized, and EW and other bloggers and commenters have followed closely, this is about to become a prodigious assault on the Fourth Amendment.

Also the classic whore house paradigm is in place in the U.S. Senate. It's not just Vitter who knows a thing or two about hookers. Jello Jay has his own Escort Service going and he's turning tricks for dollars.

The Telco Lobbyist law firms have been writing this bill from the start and they've paid well to do it.

Converging worlds of IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband

Rockerfeller’s contributions from Telco’s to buy immunity have exponentially climbed off the wall since Spring 2007.

The list of Verizon’s law firms lobbying for immunity alone is staggering and among them are the largest law firms in any major US city.

Senate Bill Gets Telcos Legal Immunity and Lets NSA Wiretap In U.S. Without Court Approval

Democratic Lawmaker Pushing Immunity Is Newly Flush With Telco Cash

Of course Democrats formerly in power at the highest levels are helping the current Democrats to Cave for money as Glenn Greenwald notes here:

Former Clinton officials lobby for amnesty for FISA lawbreaking

So if Telco Immunity is being framed in a fillibuster there are a two numbers to keep in mind:

1) It takes 60 votes to stop the fillibuster or in Senatespeak to “invoke cloture.”

2) It would take 67 votes to overcome the inevitable Lil Bushie Veto that would follow a bill that maintained Telco Immunity–what we all want to happen but what I personally would be shocked to see happen given the lack of backbone in Democrats and the lockstep rubberstamp Senate and House Republicans have given to Bushie on every major vote I’ve seen in the last few years.

Everyone should be extremely bothered by the way this is unfolding:

No one in the House or Senate considers you important enough to know anything about the substance of information given to Senate Intelligence Committee members that the Senate Judiciary members are complaining they haven’t seen. I predict an inevitable cave-in of Democrats as to cloture. I predict a Bush rubber stamping of Republicans if Telco immunity were included and then 67 votes would be needed to overcome the inevitable Bush veto.

We know nothing about what’s being marked up right now–but it’s pretty obvious that Telco immunity is in there thanks to spineless Rockerfeller. He can always be counted on to cave as can his fellow Intelligence Committee members with the exception of Russ Feingold.

None of them will tell you anything about what’s being marked up, nor anything substantive about what they’ve been able to review as far as classified documents. I know they’re classified, but let’s get real–You’ve never had the door shut on you as a voter more firmly than now.

You aren’t given any real indication about the markups in Senate Intelligence or Senate Judiciary and you aren’t given a clue about what the classified documents show but I’ll give you one: It’s worse than you can immagine.

Billions of your tax dollars are spent on gathering all of your information from every source with all kinds of alphabet subagencie communications centers you’ve never heard of and never will–your email, your searches, your phone calls, and your medical records and your Democratic Senators and House Members are poised to to extend it.

Again Fillibuster–60 Votes and you’re talking Cavocrats here–they cave each and every time–I’d say the chances of invoking cloture look awfully good right now. I couldn’t be more happy that Dodd and Biden are at least the first ones to promise to fillibuster. Right on.

Veto–67 Votes and you’re talking Bush Rubber Stamps here on both sides of the aisle unfortunately.

Conference Committee will be a disaster–Secret negotiations controlled by synchophants to the principle of State Secrets spelling Telco Immunity but it's really about cash paid for services to people like Rockerfeller and forget about help once it gets there.

That Georgie Orwell had it down when he wrote that little book in 1948.

The latest comment I’ve seen from Russ Feingold about what they’ve been shown (none of which they are sharing with you the voters is this from NYT):

“The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Bond, worked out an agreement with the administration giving committee and staff members access to the documents in exchange for scheduling Thursday’s review of the bill. But just what those documents showed was a matter of intense dispute.

Mr. Feingold, who had a staff member review the classified documents at a secure location earlier in the week, came away with a different impression. Mr. Feingold said, “The documents made available by the White House for the first time this week only further demonstrate that the program was illegal and that there is no basis for granting retroactive immunity to those who allegedly cooperated.”

[orionATL]

kevin H

i wanted that list.

thanks for providing it.

[Darclay]

If so, which Prime Contractor got it?

May I offer AT&T or a subsidiary, why else would the Gov. allow them to merge back to one Lg monoply.That would be my guess.

[Pete Pierce]

Proposed Senate Democratic Cave-In Surveillance Bill