Gonzales hearing - live blogging

I didn’t even listen to Gonzales’ opening statement, since he basically repeated what they’ve been saying all along.

Specter and Leahy did OK, but Gonzales keeps stonewalling them. Every time they ask him to answer the question, he starts in “blah blah blah” and you know he’s not going to answer. He wouldn’t say whether they tell the FISA judges whether the info they’re using to apply for a warrant comes from this program. Specter could barely get an answer on whether he’d mind if Ashcroft testified. Of course, if he said he would mind, I would get Ashcroft in there on the double! I think Leahy made a mistake by just asking him what else the President could do (X or Y), because Gonzales just said, “Well, he’s not doing that.” Leahy should have asked, “Could he decide tomorrow to do X?” I’d like one of them to ask him if he would be comfortable allowing President Hillary Clinton or any future president these powers.

Hatch is defending the program - why doesn’t he just sit up there with the guy?

Kennedy asked why they just didn’t come to Congress? “We’re at war.” (whine whine) As Kennedy pointed out, the threat was just as great when the FISA statute was originally passed.

Now they’re on a break and one of the R’s is out there using 9/11 - even got a relative of a 9/11 victim to use as a prop. Where are Kristin Breitweiser and the “Jersey Girls” when you need them? Is this guy the only one they could find to talk to?

Grassley is just going to attack the NY Times for exposing the whole thing in the first place. Except for Specter, the R’s are just repeating the administration talking points. I guess they don’t mind being made irrelevant - maybe they don’t realize that if they allow it they’ll be just as irrelevant under the next Democratic president.