Category Image A Cover-up in plain sight


Buried on page A24 of this morning's Times we find that the Justice Department has closed its investigation into the criminal acts at the NSA because investigators were denied security clearances they allegedly needed to do their work. The article is not clear if the Justice Department denied clearances to its own investigators, or whether the NSA itself got to do it.

Ho-hum. Yet another nail in democracy's coffin, but who's counting? The lid is so securely fastened now that one more nail hardly makes a difference. Hardly deserving the coverage it got, what with the Times devoting a whole five paragraphs to the story.

Here's an essay question for you. Is the following quote from the article Orwellian or Kafkaesque. Answer in 25 words or less:

Brian Roehrkasse, a Justice Department spokesman, said that the N.S.A. program was "highly classified and exceptionally sensitive" and that "only those involved in national security with a specific need to know are provided details about this classified program." He said the legality of the eavesdropping program had been reviewed by other Justice Department offices and by the N.S.A. inspector general.

I vote for Kafkaesque.

Apparently Mr. Roehrkasse thinks it's self evident that people designated by the Justice Department to investigate criminal activity have no specific need to know about the criminal activity they are investigating. And don't you envy the criminals who get to decide who is allowed to investigate them. (Answer: no one).

I know it's getting trite, but I'll say it again. What if Clinton had pulled a stunt like this. The Times was all over the non-crime that was Whitewater-page one all the way. But it deep sixes a story in which the administration basically admits to a cover-up.
Posted: Thursday - May 11, 2006 at 09:02 PM          

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