Cheney's Response to Specter - June 8, 2006

^{Category: War on Terror}

Last week, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter castigating Vice President Dick Cheney for his recent efforts to stonewall investigation of the warrantless surveillance program. The vice president's response addressed some, but not all, of Sen. Specter's concerns regarding the secretive nature of the administration's response. From Vice President Cheney's letter:

Your letter indicated that you have repeatedly requested an Administration position on legislation prepared by you relating to the TSP program. If you would like a formal Administration position on draft legislation, you may at any time submit it to the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, or the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for processing, which will produce a formal Administration position. Before you do so, however, it might be more productive for executive branch experts to meet with you ... to review the various bills that have been introduced and to share the Administration's thoughts on terrorist surveillance legislation. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel Steven G. Bradbury are key experts upon whom the executive branch would rely for this purpose. I will ask them to contact you promptly so that the cooperative effort can proceed apace.

For his part, Senator Specter has expressed that he is pleased with Vice President Cheney's letter but has no intention of dropping his investigation, and may be forced to pursue aggressive legal action if the administration continues to block his efforts.

See also:

• Specter's Letter to Cheney - June 7, 2006
• Frist Threatens Senate Intelligence Committee, Shuts Down Spygate Investigation
• Specter Threatens to Cut NSA Funding in Response to Spygate