Senator Merkely disputes the President's claim that Congress was briefed on NSA

[cali]

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Friday disputed a claim President Obama made at a press conference only moments earlier, when the president said that every member of Congress had been briefed on the National Security Agency’s (NSA) domestic phone surveillance program.

Merkley said only select members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees had been briefed on the program, and that he was only aware of it because he obtained “special permission” to review the pertinent documents after hearing about it second-hand.

“I knew about the program because I specifically sought it out,” Merkley said on MSNBC. “It’s not something that’s briefed outside the Intelligence Committee. I had to get special permission to find out about the program. It raised concerns for me. … When I saw what was being done, I felt it was so out of sync with the plain language of the law and that it merited full public examination, and that’s why I called for the declassification.

At a press conference on Friday, Obama said that every member of Congress had been briefed on the phone monitoring program. The president argued that the policy, which was implemented in 2007, struck the “right balance” between privacy and national security, and that it had been helpful in thwarting terrorist attacks.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/304189-dem-senator-disputes-obamas-claim-that-congress-was-briefed-on-nsa-program#ixzz2VbvBJ7O2

[NOVA_Dem]

1. PO is now telling 1/2 truths like republicans. n/t

[dkf]

2. So does the Prez just not know what is going on? Again?

[limpyhobbler]

15. Maybe he has Alzheimer's like Reagan? nt

[Laelth]

3. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[savalez]

4. He then said this immediatly after that:

"With respect to all these programs, the relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed on these programs."

Curious how The Hill omitted that part.

[HeroInAHalfShell]

5. Why didn't President Obama say that in the first place?

[savalez]

7. What do you mean?

He said them both, probably in the same breath. The Hill just cut that part out.

[HeroInAHalfShell]

38. why say both in the same breath even??? Why not just say one or the other?

why confuse everyone with saying to things that contradict each other?

[savalez]

39. The news media should take the

overall meaning and report that. As far as I'm concerned, in this case, it's The Hill who is confusing you. Intentionally I might add.

[HeroInAHalfShell]

40. So the President said that congress knew about it then said that only some in congress knew.

how is the Hill confusing me?

[savalez]

41. By omission.

If you take the entirety of what he said you would conclude that he said that relevant congressional committees were briefed. The Hill doesn't give you the opportunity when they omit certain parts of it. Remember the "they didn't build that" controversy during the last election? Classic example.

[HeroInAHalfShell]

42. if you say that the relevant congressional committees were briefed then why would you say that every

member of congress had been briefed?

By saying that every member of congress has been briefed you are telling me that all of congress knew, not just relevant congressional committees had been briefed.

Those are to contradicting statement that the president gave, or am I wrong in thinking that?


either every member has been briefed or only relevant congressional committees have been briefed. cant be both.

[savalez]

43. Are you for real? n/t

[HeroInAHalfShell]

44. Is what I said wrong? Am I understanding it wrong? or did the President say both of those things?

[savalez]

45. You asked me the same question that I just answered.

[HeroInAHalfShell]

46. I must ask the same question because you are not clear

In you answer.

[LWolf]

6. Merkley repeatedly earns my support. nt

[blkmusclmachine]

8. SOMEONE is lying.

[OldRedneck]

9. Nothing wrong here. And Merkley knows it.

Congressional oversight over US intelligence operations is vested in two Congressional committees: The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).

Merkley is not a member of either committee. As such he would have not have been privy to briefings.

Simple as that.

Now . . . did the President say that "every member of Congress" had been briefed? Or did he say every member on the relevant committees? And if he said "every member" I suspect he meant to say "every member of the relevant committees."

[savalez]

11. Here is what the prez said

"Now the programs that have been discussed over the last couple of days in the press are secret in the sense that they're classified but they're not secret in the sense that, when it comes to telephone calls, every member of Congress has been briefed on this program," Obama said during a press briefing in San Jose, Calif. "With respect to all these programs, the relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed on these programs."

Source: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/obama-dismisses-hype-over-nsa-reports-nobody-is?ref=fpb

[red dog 1]

13. Great reply!..I wonder if OldRedNeck will be satisfied with it?

[savalez]

14. I don't see why not.

"With respect to all these programs, the relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed on these programs."

As far as I can tell it means his assessment of the situation is correct.

[red dog 1]

18. His assessment of the situation is correct?....I don't think so.

His assessment:
Now...did the President say that "every member of Congress" had been briefed? Or did he say
every member of the relevant committees? And if he said "every member" I suspect he meant to say "every member of the relevant committees"?

From your "Here's is what the prez said:" quote:
"Now the programs that have been discussed over the last couple of days in the press are secret in the sense that they're classified but they're not secret in the sense that, when it comes to telephone calls, every member of Congress has been briefed on this program."

From the OP:
"At a press conference on Friday, Obama said that every member of Congress had been briefed on the phone monitoring program."

[savalez]

28. I do think so.

Take a look at post #4. Aren't you at all curious as to why The Hill omitted an important part of what the President said? The part where he clarifies that relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed on these programs. I suspect it was to ruffle feathers.

[Recursion]

33. The phone story is not the NSA story

These are two separate programs.

[Bluenorthwest]

21. The President said 'every member of Congress' and that has been pointed out to you and yet

you have not acknowledged the fact. Pathetic.

[ProSense]

23. Obama administraton releases details on Senate briefings

Obama administraton releases details on Senate briefings
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022974680


Maybe some members of Congress missed the briefing.s

[savalez]

32. See post #4

[Recursion]

34. About the FBI phone surveillance program

That's different from the NSA Internet surveillance program.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

25. And Merkley asked for and obtained permission

to review the information, so..........?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Oh, it's just harmless data..that's why it's kept secret and the whistleblower is being pursued.

They're just protecting our delicate minds from worrying about our government spying on us.

[limpyhobbler]

16. A lot of people would rather not know about it because its too depressing.

Also it's very distracting to think about when you're trying to watch sports, soap operas, cable news, Cardassians etc.

[alfredo]

12. For you that slam Google, Apple, and other tech companies for going along with PRISM,

should remember what happened to Qwest when they refused to allow their networks to be used to spy on Americans. They were first approached before 9-11.

[uponit7771]

17. ***MORE FUDR BS*** Obama admin briefed APPROPRIATE congress members NOT "every" congress member

[bigtree]

22. the 'gotcha' works better than admitting that he clarified it

. . . and admitting that you know what he meant to express in that statement - at least for folks who are determined to scandalize this issue.

[savalez]

29. +1

[snot]

19. K&R'd.

[ConcernedCanuk]

20. regardless "domestic phone surveillance program."

.
.
.

domestic phone surveillance program. -

Didn't Hitler have something like that?



CC

[obama2terms]

24. BO may be continuing policies that were there before he was POTUS

But still he had the power to get rid of those laws and he did NOT. That's my main problem. If they are just collecting names and numbers then they most likely will find nothing in the first place, which makes me wonder is that just being said to shut the public up? I don't like where this is going, the main reason I voted for Barack Obama was because I believed he would back away from Bush's policies, and in some ways I am wrong. BO has had some decent accomplishments that he deserves to be proud of, this is not one them. Very disheartening...

[BenzoDia]

27. Phone records can be extremely useful for connecting dots and filling in the blanks.

Their use in law enforcement has been in place for decades.

I'm a little more concerned about the Google stuff myself.

[gholtron]

37. Are you saying that the President can over turn laws?

Really? I'm going to sue my high school civics teacher for having me to believe that Congress has to repel a law and not just the President alone.

[Bonobo]

26. This

"Senator Merkely disputes the President's claim that Congress was briefed on NSA"

Has got me kinda fucked up and even I can't thing of a way to respond.

-Pronobo

[temmer]

30. "every member of Congress has been briefed on this program"

So this is how this general "briefing" looked like:

“The Intelligence Committee knew, and members [of Congress] could go into the Intelligence Committee room and read the documents,” said Jennifer Hoelzer, a former Wyden staffer. “But they couldn’t bring staff, they couldn’t take notes, they couldn’t consult outside legal scholars.”

Moreover, Hoelzer said, there is little incentive for a member of Congress to object to something that the administration says is necessary to combat terrorism. “Nobody necessarily wants their fingerprints on anything that could ever go wrong,” she said. “They may be for or against it in theory, but they don’t want their name on the record.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/government-surveillance-programs-renew-debate-about-oversight/2013/06/08/7f5e6dc4-d06d-11e2-8f6b-67f40e176f03_story_1.html#

[Recursion]

35. "This program" being the phone surveillance by the FBI. Merkely is talking about the NSA (nt)

[Major Hogwash]

31. Bullshit, Merkley!! I'm not even a member of Congress and I knew about that NSA program!!

Who the fuck do you think you're kidding??

[brentspeak]

36. "I'm not even a member of Congress and I knew about that NSA program!!"