Conason: To Repair The Damage Done In NSA Blowup, Start With Clapper [View all]

[LondonReign2]

With the conviction of Bradley Manning and asylum granted to Edward Snowden in Russia, it may be time to turn attention away from the controversy over their actions and toward the government — specifically, the intelligence community. Whatever ultimate judgment is leveled on Manning’s or Snowden’s actions, they have raised real questions about the ways that the United States gathers, uses, and classifies information.

The first order of business is to restore a semblance of democratic order within the government itself. Somehow amid the hunt for Snowden and the trial of Manning, the misconduct of James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, has seemingly been excused. But if the actions of Manning and Snowden required prosecution, then what Clapper did deserves investigation and censure at the very least.

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Clapper’s false testimony echoed some of the worst trespasses against democratic governance of the previous administration. While it is wrong to say that the Obama administration is just as arrogant and authoritarian as was the Bush (and Cheney) regime, that moment in the Capitol encouraged those unflattering comparisons. It violated President Obama’s promises of integrity and transparency, and his oath to uphold the Constitution.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/to-repair-the-damage-done-in-nsa-blowup-start-with-clapper/