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Whistleblowers informed GOP House intel chairman about programs Bush didn't brief Congress on



RAW STORY
Published: Sunday July 9, 2006

On a Sunday morning talk show, Republican House Intelligence Committee chairman Peter Hoekstra explained the circumstances which led to him writing a letter to President Bush which said that not informing Congress about "special projects" may be illegal and warned him that he may lose support from some party members on national security matters, RAW STORY has found.

"Mr. Chairman, I know that you supported and were briefed on the NSA warrantless wiretap program, on the tracking of terror finances," said Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace. "Are you saying that as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, that you were not briefed about other secret programs?"

Hoekstra then explained that whistleblowers had informed him about programs the president hadn't briefed Congress on.

"This is actually a case where the whistleblower process was working appropriately," said Hoekstra. "Some people within the intelligence community brought to my attention some programs that they believed we had not been briefed on."

"They were right," Hoekstra added. "We asked by code name what some of these programs, about some of these programs."

"We've now been briefed on those programs," said Hoekstra. "But I wanted to reinforce to the president and to the executive branch and the intelligence community how important, and by law, the requirement that they keep the legislative branch informed of what they are doing."

Hoekstra added that he took the president's failure to inform Congress "seriously," and that it wasn't an "optional" responsibility.

"There are lots of programs going on in the intelligence community," said Hoekstra. "We can't be briefed on every little thing that they are doing, but in this case, there was at least one major, what I consider significant activity that we had not been briefed on that we have now been briefed on."

"And, I want to set the standard there, that it is not optional for this president or any president or people in the executive community not to keep the intelligence committees fully informed of what they are doing," Hoekstra said.

Excerpts from the FOX News Sunday transcript:

#

MR. WALLACE: Chairman Hoekstra, I want to move. We have a couple of minutes left, to one other subject. As we reported earlier, you wrote President Bush a letter in May in which you charge that the administration may have violated the law by failing to inform Congress about various secret programs. And let's put up some of what you had to say. You wrote, "The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play 20 questions to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution."

Mr. Chairman, I know that you supported and were briefed on the NSA warrantless wiretap program, on the tracking of terror finances. Are you saying that as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, that you were not briefed about other secret programs?

REP. HOEKSTRA: Chris, that letter focused on three things that our committee has a passion about. Number one, getting the right people in the right leadership spots in the intelligence community, second thing is standing up the office of the Director of National Intelligence to make sure that that reform effort moves forward, and the third thing is doing complete and aggressive oversight of all of the programs in the intelligence community.

This is actually a case where the whistleblower process was working appropriately. Some people within the intelligence community brought to my attention some programs that they believed we had not been briefed on. They were right. We asked by code name what some of these programs, about some of these programs. We've now been briefed on those programs. But I wanted to reinforce to the president and to the executive branch and the intelligence community how important, and by law, the requirement that they keep the legislative branch informed of what they are doing.

MR. WALLACE: Chairman, the president always says in these cases that congressional leaders, including you as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, are briefed. How do you explain this failure, and how seriously do you take it?

REP. HOEKSTRA: Well, I take it very, very seriously. Otherwise I would not have written the letter to the president. You know, the -- how do you explain it? There are lots of programs going on in the intelligence community. We can't be briefed on every little thing that they are doing, but in this case, there was at least one major, what I consider significant activity that we had not been briefed on that we have now been briefed on. And, I want to set the standard there, that it is not optional for this president or any president or people in the executive community not to keep the intelligence committees fully informed of what they are doing.

#

RAW STORY covered Hoekstra's May letter to President Bush yesterday, after the New York Times reported on it.

"I have learned of some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed," Rep. Hoesktra wrote in May. "If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies."

"The U.S. Congress simply should not have to play Twenty Questions to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution," Hoekstra added in the letter obtained by the Times.

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