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| Former NSA official to testify before Congress |
| 2006-01-05 |
| Looks like we found Risen's probable source, my guess is he gets the Dick Clarke treatment from the press. A former National Security Agency official wants to tell Congress about electronic intelligence programs that he asserts were carried out illegally by the NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Russ Tice, a whistleblower who was dismissed from the NSA last year, stated in letters to the House and Senate intelligence committees that he is prepared to testify about highly classified Special Access Programs, or SAPs, that were improperly carried out by both the NSA and the DIA. "I intend to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while I was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency and with the Defense Intelligence Agency," Mr. Tice stated in the Dec. 16 letters, copies of which were obtained by The Washington Times. The letters were sent the same day that the New York Times revealed that the NSA was engaged in a clandestine eavesdropping program that bypassed the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. The FISA court issues orders for targeted electronic and other surveillance by the government. President Bush said Sunday that the NSA spying is "a necessary program" aimed at finding international terrorists by tracking phone numbers linked to al Qaeda. Mr. Bush said during a visit to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio that al Qaeda is "making phone calls, [and] it makes sense to find out why." Critics of the eavesdropping program, which gathered and sifted through large amounts of telephone and e-mail to search for clues to terrorists' communications, say the activities might have been illegal because they were carried out without obtaining a FISA court order. The Justice Department has said the program is legal under presidential powers authorized by Congress in 2001. Mr. Tice said yesterday that he was not part of the intercept program. In his Dec. 16 letter, Mr. Tice wrote that his testimony would be given under the provisions of the 1998 Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, which makes it legal for intelligence officials to disclose wrongdoing without being punished. The activities involved the NSA director, the NSA deputies chief of staff for air and space operations and the secretary of defense, he stated. "These ... acts were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special Access Programs," Mr. Tice said. The letters were sent to Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican, and Rep. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican. Mr. Roberts is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Mr. Hoekstra is chairman of the House counterpart. Spokesmen for the NSA and the Senate intelligence committee declined to comment. Spokesmen for the House intelligence committee and the DIA said they were aware of Mr. Tice's letters, but had not seen formal copies of them. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #6 A National Security Agency official should know not to go to the press with national security issues, but to go to Congress. That is why we have a freaking balance of power. I don't care if he's completely correct and laws were broken this tool could very easily have hurt the war effort. If it is determined that what he reported was a crime, he should get life in prison. If it is determined that what he reported was not a crime after all, he should be hung. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-01-05 11:04 |
| #5 I think I warned you all about the LLL trotting out Russell Tice as their next patriot/traitor. Just for full disclosure Tice was removed from his NSA job after accusing a co-worker of spying. After it was determined that the co-worker was not a spy, Tice was forced to undergo a psych evaluation. After the evaluation Russ was diagnosed as paranoid delusional, this is a common symptom with people with depression. So to make this long story short (to late) Russ is a certified Moon Bat. Please OH PLEASE let him testify on behalf of the left in Congress, I will bet that at some time ole Russ will slip back and reveal his true LLL moonbat self in front of congress. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-01-05 10:04 |
| #4 So here is some more from an interview Tice had with Amy Goodwin. "Tice: AMY GOODMAN: Were you ever asked to engage in this? RUSSELL TICE: No, no, and if I did so, I did so unwittingly, which I have a feeling would be the case for many of the people involved in this. More than likely this was very closely held at the upper echelons at N.S.A., and mainly because these people knew -- (lots of names dropped) ---they all knew this was illegal. So, you know, they kept it from the populace of N.S.A., because every N.S.A. officer certainly knows this is illegal." So, I take from this interview, he never actually did anything he is now willing to report to Congress. He only knows of it, perhaps, at best, as second hand knowlege. The interview goes on to talk about compartmentalized programs and such and can be found here: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/03/1435201 |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2006-01-05 09:30 |
| #3 "the 1998 Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act" Another gift from the Clinton's Administration |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2006-01-05 09:06 |
| #2 Dear Chairman Roberts, Under the provisions of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA), I intend to report to Congress probably unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while I was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency (NSA) and with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). These acts involve the Director of the National Security Agency, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defence. The probably unlawful and unconstitutional acts were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special Access Programs (SAP)s. I was a technical intelligence specialist dealing almost exclusively with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA. Due to the highly sensitive nature of these programs and operations, I will require assurances from your committee that the staffers anb/or congressional members to participate retain the proper security clearances, and also have the appropriate SAP cleared facilities available for these discussions. Please inform me when you require my appearance on Capital Hill to conduct these discussions in relation to this ICWPA report. Very Respectfully, Russell D. Tice Former Intelligence Officer, NSA http://news.baou.com/main.php?action=recent&rid=20695 Just shoot the bastard! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-05 08:16 |
| #1 1998 Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act for Dhimmidonks, MSM slime & Poseurs, this be the artifice for treason. |
| Posted by: Posit Angleton6948 2006-01-05 05:34 |