Republican House Intelligence Committee Chair Pushes Back

Republican NYTimes. Yesterday, Jane Harmon, in a letter to Bush, accused him of a second major legal violation: The National Security Act of 1947, which says that the administration must completely and currently brief the House and Senate committees on Intelligence.

The importance of Harmon's statement is that it is: (1) it is far easier to prove violation than that of FISA.

The Chair of the Senate committee on intelligence has been totally silent on this issue, not saying a single word on what was or was not told to him or members of his committee.

However, today the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee implies that Bush was in compliance. Actually, that's not what he says, he says that the Briefings that Bush did provide to the Committee leadership were in compliance. Well, sure, but my walking down the street is in compliance with the National Security Act, too. The question is whether Bush's briefings were sufficient to satisfy the National Security act. Based on Democrats' public statments, the answer would seem to be no.