Program X = Data mining + TSP

That's one possible formula based on the latest from the New York Times:

A 2004 dispute over the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance program that led top Justice Department officials to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases, according to current and former officials briefed on the program.

It is not known precisely why searching the databases, or data mining, raised such a furious legal debate. But such databases contain records of the phone calls and e-mail messages of millions of Americans, and their examination by the government would raise privacy issues.

The N.S.A.’s data mining has previously been reported. But the disclosure that concerns about it figured in the March 2004 debate helps to clarify the clash this week between Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senators who accused him of misleading Congress and called for a perjury investigation.

The confrontation in 2004 led to a showdown in the hospital room of then Attorney General John Ashcroft, where Mr. Gonzales, the White House counsel at the time, and Andrew H. Card Jr., then the White House chief of staff,  tried to get the ailing Mr. Ashcroft to reauthorize  the N.S.A. program.

This implies that the original surveillance program (Program X) is the basically the program that James Risen describes in his book. This means Gonzales needs to provide--to my mind--two pieces of exculpatory evidence. First he needs to prove that an entirely new program was launched after Comey's interference. Then he needs to explain why he referred to the TSP as a years-old program as a matter of routine until last week under oath when he decided to change his tune.

Comments

[JimPortlandOR]

As I suggested, at least in part, in my comment on Program X vs. TSP, redux, the original program (Gonzo's “other intelligence activities.”). The Times piece peels back a layer or two on this, but conspicuously doesn't mention that the previous collection/mining program (Total Information Awareness) set up by John Poindexter was supposedly killed by executive action (and then by later legislation that forbid that approach, I believe). From December, 2002, to August, 2003, Poindexter served as the Director of the DARPA Information Awareness Office (IAO). Wiki link

So: what seems to be coming out here is that Bush revived (or kept alive?) the forbidden program, contrary not just to the FISA law, but other promised/required actions on data collection/mining of US citizens routinely over long periods of time. If true, Bush can't say this was a response to 9/11 and required a new program. This was a program Congress had expressly not allowed, and if he did it, this is truly a 'high crime or misdemeanor'.

BTW, I believe Poindexter is still in the government (or a contractor), and I'd bet that the outside contractors doing the Poindexter program are still on the government payroll for whatever the 'other intelligence activities' encompass. This link points out the connections between Cheney, Poindexter, and Mike McConnell, the successor to Negroponte as Director of National Intelligence over all US intelligence agencies.

This whole thing is a termite nest, way underground, but probably recording my keystrokes as they are typed. (hehe) Gonzo is the termite that left the nest and got snagged by his story, but the hive will redeem him, for sure.

[JimPortlandOR]

Hmmm. Here's a link to thoughts from Marty Lederman at Balkinization (the law blog) that offers some sweet morsels and analysis of what Project X might have contained. Well worth a read.