“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. With respect to all these programs, the relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed on these programs.”
— President Obama, remarks to the media, June 7, 2013“It’s not something that’s briefed outside the Intelligence Committee,” Merkley told MSNBC. “I had to get special permission to find out about the program.”Meanwhile, another Democrat, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, also appeared to dispute the president’s statement. He said he knew “almost nothing” about the program and had double checked his e-mails to see if he had received notice of a briefing. Even then, he suggested, he would be at a disadvantage because lawmakers can only hear the briefing without the benefit of staff expertise.“The only thing taken…is not content of a conversation, but the information that is generally on your telephone bill, which has been held not to be private personal property by the Supreme Court,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on “This Week.”We asked the White House for evidence that every lawmaker had been briefed on the telephone surveillance program. We received a copy of letter that Feinstein and her GOP counterpart, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, had sent to colleagues inviting every senator to view a classified report on expiring provisions, including “one of roving authority for electronic surveillance and the other on the acquisition of business records that are relevant to investigations to protect against international terrorism or espionage.”
can we fault one section for another not taking advantage of a update, are they not responsible to attend meetings and briefings so as to better do their jobs, not attending as we see leaves them half cocked and under informed. that's like republicans always complaining about how many pages a bill has and do we expect them to read it, well hell yes we do they not only need to get updates they need to check their job description maybe for the first time. in this case both sides.
At the White House briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Jay Carney sidestepped questions about the president’s specific statement about “every member” being briefed.“I can't speak to individual members,” Carney said. “The chair and ranking member of the intelligence committee have made clear that every member was advised of this and had the opportunity for briefings.”
The Pinocchio Test
President Obama may have leaned a bit forward when he asserted that “every member” of Congress was briefed on the program. We will note he was speaking extemporaneously, not from notes, but for some strange reason White House staff never like to admit the president misspoke.Indeed, Obama’s point probably would have been stronger if he had said that lawmakers had an opportunity to learn more about the program and should have taken the time to learn as much about it as possible.
grading:
One Pinocchio
