Revamp of U.S. Spy Agencies Shifts Power
August 3rd, 2008Via: Los Angeles Times:
The overhaul was described by two senior administration officials as the most significant of its kind in more than a generation.
It was the first major revision of an executive order originally issued by President Reagan in 1981 to formally define the roles of the various U.S. spy agencies, place limits on their activities and address the privacy rights of Americans.
But Harman and other lawmakers complained that they were left out of the revision process and did not receive copies of the new order until after Bush had signed it.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) walked out of a closed-door briefing of the House Intelligence Committee by McConnell on Thursday morning and was followed by several other lawmakers.
In an interview, Hoekstra, the committee’s senior Republican, said he told McConnell that he was disgusted with what he described as the Bush administration’s continuing effort to undercut any kind of outside oversight.
“This is part of a systemic problem of the administration, and I said I’m not going to take it anymore,” Hoekstra said.
More: Bush’s Order on Intelligence Sparks a Furor in Congress
