Can't Touch This -- NewsweekWhy did the NSA classify 'public' report on wiretaps?
When Congress passed a landmark electronic-spying bill last summer, the measure included a key provision that ordered the inspectors general of U.S. intelligence agencies to produce the first-ever public report on President Bush's warrantless-surveillance program.
The report isn't due until next July—long after Bush leaves office. But when the inspectors general recently submitted their first "interim" report to Congress under the measure, it wasn't made public. Instead, the brief document, written by CIA inspector general John Helgerson, was marked classified—a move that has drawn a stiff protest from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes.
In an Oct. 10 letter, Reyes complained to Helgerson (who is coordinating the review by 16 different inspectors general) for submitting a secret interim report when Congress envisioned a document that could be shared with the public. The letter essentially said, "Here's what the law says, please explain why you're not following the law," Courtney Littig, a spokeswoman for the House Intelligence Committee, tells NEWSWEEK.
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My Comment: It is very hard to have an opinion on an report that you cannot read. I can only speculate that even this information will have an impact on national security. My hope is that Congess who provides oversight will do their proper job .... but after the failure of providing the oversight for our financial institutions, I am not so confident that they are doing their proper job.