Of course, the Times failed to mention the Amanpour angle, but at least the letter is out there:
Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, released the 27 Democrats' letter. It asks for copies of all legal opinions on the spying program; the numbers of Americans singled out; and the names of agencies getting the information the agency collected.But don't expect an answer anytime soon. There is a concerted effort to shut down any information coming from the government agencies. Because the leadership of those organizations know that their staff know what's been done is illegal. The Bush Administration doesn't want any whistleblowers:
F.B.I. agents and N.S.A. employees have been warned by their bosses not to discuss the program.One note to the headline writers at the NY Times. There are two bodies in Congress: Senate and House. House members are not Senators. The title of the article was "Republican Senator Defends Briefings on Domestic Spying." Representative Peter Hoekstra, who defended the briefing, is not a Senator.
The warnings at the security agency, which were sent after the Times article appeared, came in two e-mail messages dated Dec. 16 and Dec. 22 from Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the agency's director, to the N.S.A. work force. They were released on Thursday to The Times in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
