“NOT THE TSP?”….What was the subject of a meeting on March 10, 2004, between congressional leaders and the White House national security staff? Here’s what Alberto Gonzales said under oath on Tuesday:
At a heated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Gonzales repeatedly testified that the issue at hand was not about the terrorist surveillance program….Instead, Gonzales said, the emergency meetings on March 10, 2004, focused on an intelligence program that he would not describe.
Gonzales, who was then serving as counsel to Bush, testified that the White House Situation Room briefing sought to inform congressional leaders about the pending expiration of the unidentified program and Justice Department objections to renew it.
….”Not the TSP?” responded Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. “Come on. If you say it’s about other, that implies not. Now say it or not.”
“It was not,” Gonzales answered. “It was about other intelligence activities.”
Other intelligence activities? Not the TSP? Despite the recollections of other participants that the meeting on that day was precisely about the TSP?
Well, guess what? It turns out the dates of all the TSP meetings were the subject of a memo from John Negroponte last year. So it’s all down on paper. And you know what date shows up? March 10, 2004. Looks like Gonzales has some ‘splainin to do.
UPDATE: The Post has a decent rundown of the whole issue here.
