Yesterday I reported that the Justice Department had written Congress that, against the advice of Alberto Gonzales, the president had shut down an internal department investigation into the administration’s wireless wiretapping program. Bush’s was an unprecedented and arbitrary (and still unexplained) move.
Democrats in the Senate want to know more. So yesterday Sens. Russ Feinfold (D-WI), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter following up.
In particular, the senators want to know the stated rationale behind Bush’s decision. They also want to see documentation relevant to the stifled investigation. Why?
As they write in the letter: “Given the serious questions that have been raised about the Justice Department’s credibility, we continue to believe it is important to review documents supporting the assertions in [the Justice Department’s] letter.”
In other words: we don’t believe anything you say now, so just save your breath and hand over documentation.