Via the NYT: Ally Warned Bush on Keeping Spying From Congress

In a sharply worded letter to President Bush in May, an important Congressional ally charged that the administration might have violated the law by failing to inform Congress of some secret intelligence programs and risked losing Republican support on national security matters.

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But Mr. Hoekstra, who was briefed on and supported the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program and the Treasury Department’s tracking of international banking transactions, clearly was referring to programs that have not been publicly revealed.

As I have noted on several occasions, AG Gonzales clearly intimated in testimony over the NSA wiretap program that there were other secret surveillance programs in existence. Now, that fact alone isn’t necessarily cause for alarm, however, what is concerning is the ongoing pattern that indicates that the Bush administration has attempted to eschew proper, formal oversight of these programs and that Congress has not been sufficiently diligent or aggressive in asserting their constitutional role in such oversight.

One of several reasons that I did not find the NYT revelations about the SWIFT program to be problematic is that the president’s allergy to proper oversight plus the Congress’ lackadaisical attitude towards the concept has led me to think that the only way to light a fire under both is for the press to be more active in this arena.

It is refreshing to see Mr. Hoekstra becoming a tad more assertive, but I have to wonder if that assertiveness will go beyond strongly worded letter.

The key passage of the letter is as follows:

“I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed,” Mr. Hoesktra wrote. “If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies.”

He added: “The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play Twenty Questions to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution.”

Indeed.