Frist Disbands Senate Intel Committee Over Memogate

NewsMax ^ | 11/8/03 | Limbacher

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has temporarily disbanded the Senate Intelligence Committee until committee Democrats reveal the identity of the author of a memo outlining a their plan to politicize intelligence data in a bid undermine President Bush's reelection.

"The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has been harmed by a blatant partisan attack," the Tennessee Republican said in a floor speech yesterday, concluding that the memo had rendered the committee "incapable of meeting its responsibilities to the United States Senate and to the American people."

"Those responsible for this memo appear to be more focused on winning the White House than they are on winning the war against terror," Frist complained before adding, "There will be no more pulling along and no more useful collaboration on partisan schemes."

Committee Chairman Pat Roberts echoed Frist's decision to shut his committee down, saying, "Unless and until this reprehensible attack plan and strategy to derail the committee's important work is properly addressed, I am afraid that it will be impossible to return to business as usual in the committee."

A committee meeting scheduled for yesterday was canceled, and none has been scheduled for next week, a senior committee staff member told the Washington Post.

Frist also demanded that Democrats implicated in the Memogate scandal deliver "a personal apology" to Sen. Roberts.

Though retiring Georgia Democratic Sen. Zell Miller has called the memo, first leaked to radio host Sean Hannity on Tuesday, "perhaps treasonous," other Democrats circled the wagons on Friday.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid complained on the Senate floor that the memo had been "pilfered" by Republicans then leaked to the media, saying that act was just as offensive as anything revealed by the controversial document.

[MHGinTN]

It would have been glorious to have witnessed the unfolding with Rush hitting it three hours a day! Sean is carrying the water pretty darn well, but there's nothing like el Rushbo to pin the tale on the donkeys, if you know what I mean. [Rush was fond of opining that something important always happens when he's away from the golden microphone. well, this is hugh, the imp-flop-cations enormous, with series repercussions, if we play it right.

[dinasour]

I would never contradict the Major, but wasn't Barbara Olson's Screen name BKO.

[jriemer]

I wonder if the development of a collective Republican spine has anything to do with that cache of intell documents found in Iraq the other day? You know, the documents that supposedly name the actual names of people being bought off by SH...

It's not the first time such proof linking Western politicans and Saddam has surfaced out of Iraq. A prominent British politician was linked to documents that said he received L375,000 per year from the Iraqi government to "represent" their issues in Britian.

Labour MP George Galloway faces further Iraq claims

[cdrw]

out-freepin-standing

[Mo1]

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid complained on the Senate floor that the memo had been "pilfered" by Republicans then leaked to the media, saying that act was just as offensive as anything revealed by the controversial document

It wasn't .. Hannity has already hinted it was a Democrat that gave it to him

But hey, For argument sake .. if it was .. It still does not excuse the ABUSE of power by Democrats with our intelligence secrects and our nations national security

The Democrats are playing games with OUR LIVES!!

Please read the Rules Senator Reid !!

RULES OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE

[OldFriend]

And the repubs have caused the dems to whine some more......Frist asked the dems to remain in session to discuss authorization bills........and they are actually going to engage in a filibuster against the dems.........LOLOL.....oh the whining and gnashing of the teeth.........whine whine whine.

[OldFriend]

Dubya was waiting until all urgent legislation was voted on and signed.......then.....KABOOM.....filibuster!!!!

Oh we of little faith!!!!

[OldFriend]

It was the phone calls......from across the country.......demanding a tough stance by the republicans.......they heard from ALL of us!!!

Keep calling toll free to the US Capitol.....they'll connect you.......1-877-762-8762

[txrangerette]

The Memo dissed Roberts by saying
how the Dems would use him - play
upon his bipartisan spirit - to
get him to investigate as much as
possible. Then dump on him for too
little probing because he's trying
to "protect Bush". Apology would
be asked for their contempt of him
& their dishonesty.

ALSO, Dems must admit who was in
on the Memo, and they all must
disavow it.

Or the Intel Committee is DOWN!!!

[Brian Allen]

<< Are you perhaps under-estimating the number of dumbed-down democrat blind partisanship voters? >>

Please God that I am not. And that our Attorney-General's curent FBI-conducted campaign to rid our nation of every last criminal alien and other felonious and fraudulent "voter" will prove to have had real teeth and real force!

<< Those poor suckers cannot and will not see what is before the nation and the world proving democrat party treacherous sedition! Any voting block that will robotically support a political party because that party promises it the rite of infanticide should not be underestimated for its destructiveness to a Republic. If it will empower the "DemocRATS" for their promises of continued infanticide, it will sacrifice anything to serve its ghouls. >>

And we will continue to both repudiate its evil and to oppose its every individual supporter to the maximum extent permitted us by Our Beloved FRaternal Republic's restored Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights!

Which include, unless there are contradicting words in it in invisible ink -- and secret from us these two hundred odd years -- the Declaration's authority that "when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is [Our] Right, it is [Our] Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for [Our] future Security."

That time, I hazard to offer, draws nigh!

Be strong -- B A

Bump/Ping

[thoughtomator]

Well... this is a positive sign, but there is still plenty of time for the GOP to spontaneously capitulate. I won't believe they are serious until whoever is responsible for the memo is tried, convicted, and sentenced. After all, it was only a few years ago the Senate gave a sitting President a pass to lie under oath in court, even after the precedent-setting impeachment.

So yes, I still believe the GOP is capable of failing to act appropriately to the seriousness of the transgression. Not only capable, but given the history, and statements from the likes of Sen. Hatch, likely.

[Froggie]

Looking at that list of Democrat suspects, my money is on Durbin as having the most to do with it!

[InvisibleChurch]

[billhilly]

"Please read the Rules Senator Reid !!"

Before he was a senator, Harry Reid was gaming commisioner of Nevada. Does that about say it all?

[spokeshave]

BINGO...we have a winner....

"Dubya was waiting until all urgent legislation was voted on and signed.......then.....KABOOM.....filibuster!!!! "

Consider....

1. Passes big military spending bill this week.

2. Passes health and education bill and the GOP PUNISHES THE DEMS for voting against it by TAKING 180M of RAT PORK OUT of the spending.

3. Frist announces the 30 hour debate on judicial nominees.

This is going to GRIND THE RATS into the dirt they came from.

[alancarp]

For the record: it could not have been John Edwards who authored The Memo. Why?

(1) His vocabulary isn't big enough to have penned some of those words;
(2) He hasn't been in the office long enough over the past 18 months -- i.e., once he got a whiff of running for President, I think he forgot where Capitol Hill was;
(3) He bright enough to dream this up (i.e., he was on the Intelligence Committee simply because he thought it was a training course); and
(4) No DEM Presidential candidate -- yes, even The Breck Girl from North Carolina -- would be so stupid as to risk the POSSIBILITY of having such a memo get traced back to him.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

Forget the personal apology to Roberts, this isn't personal - it is TREASON against America.

TREASON is an anagram of SENATOR, after all.

[MissAmericanPie]

Good on him, now the Justice Dept. needs to get in on the action and raise the specter of possible charges of treason.

[bgierhart]

MAC IT IS TIME TO RALLEY TOGETHER AND REMOVE THIS CLOWN. BUT FIRST WE NEED SOMEONE TO RUN AGAINST HIM. I WILL BE THE FIRST TO HAVE A "LETS GET RID OF HARRY" SIGN IN MY YARD

[DoctorMichael]

Neuticles. Frist just had them installed. He takes them out every night, though.