White House reneges on FISA deal

AP is reporting tonight that negotiations between House Democrats and the White House over changes to the FISA law have broken down. The White House denies this, as they deny most things, instead insisting there really are democrats on the other end of the line. Why the struggle for a deal? Because the White House doesn't want a bill. They want a talking point.

House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes said talks were at a standstill after the White House reneged on an earlier offer accepted by Democrats.

Asked if the negotiations were still ongoing, Reyes said: "No."

Reyes, D-Texas, said Democrats had agreed to three points that McConnell said the Bush administration needed.

"The DNI subsequently sent us a rewritten piece of legislation that was about 80 percent different," Reyes said. [emphasis me]

A deal was set. The Democrats had accepted and the administration pulled out. After being baited all week to get something done the Democrats came to the table--why they allowed themselves to be pushed to the table by a 28% president is another story--and they were played the bi-partisan fool by a White House that had no intention of making a deal. And, why should the White House make a deal, the lack of one allows for this kind of presidential politiking:

In his remarks, Bush coupled his demand for legislation with a threat. He said would veto any bill by the Democratic-led Congress that his intelligence director deemed unable "to prevent an attack on the country."

"We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk," Bush said after meeting with counterterror and homeland security officials at FBI headquarters. "Time is short."

The White House created the need to amend FISA. They created the cloud of urgency to pass the amendment. And now they get to keep hammering the Democrats by reneging on the deal. It's all part of their new PR blitz. Whether it be a vice president on the TV, or a racist radio-host at the White House, they are in message-mode and the Democrats have played the pawn, once again.

Note: AP has three versions of this story up on the Tubes. The first, published before the White House interjected their two cents about the breakdown in negotiations. The second, and the one I used, contains White House caveats, but still fairly represented the Democrats side. And, the third, loses the word "renege" completely and relies almost exclusively on White House spin. It's not a pretty evolution, but worth a read if only to track the blame as it is shifted onto the Democrats or at least muddled to seem that way.

Update: The Muckraking folks are all over this FISA fiasco.

Update II: Looks like the Senate passed their version and we wait for the House vote tomorrow.

[Since all versions of the AP article now lead to the Bush-heavy one I've pasted them, in their entirety, below the fold.]

AP version one:

Bush, Democrats Deadlock on Surveillance
By LARA JAKES JORDAN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
August 03, 2007 5:08 PM EST

WASHINGTON - Negotiations between the White House and congressional leaders over giving intelligence agents broader powers to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists broke down Friday night.

House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes said talks were at a standstill after the White House reneged on an earlier offer accepted by Democrats.

Reyes, D-Texas, said Democrats had agreed to three points that Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said the Bush administration needed.

"The DNI subsequently sent us a rewritten piece of legislation that was about 80 percent different. This is a very serious issue for us."

Asked if the negotiations were still ongoing, Reyes said: "No."

President Bush earlier Friday implored lawmakers to update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before leaving Washington for a monthlong summer break - a potentially vulnerable time for attacks because of the high-travel season.

The president threatened to veto any bill by the Democratic-led Congress that his intelligence director deemed unable "to prevent an attack on the country."

"We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk," Bush said after meeting with counterterror and homeland security officials at FBI headquarters. "Time is short."

Democrats said they, too, wanted to help secure the nation by passing the legislation before going on vacation - but not at the expense of crucial privacy rights.

The White House and Senate Democrats, however, still held out hopes for a deal before lawmakers leave this weekend for an August vacation.

The House had already planned to delay the start of lawmakers' August vacation and return Saturday to complete energy and defense spending bills.

Negotiators had spent most of Friday trying to narrow differences between what Bush wanted and Democrats' demand for court approval of any expansion of authority for intelligence agents to tap into phone calls and Internet traffic of suspected terrorists without first obtaining a warrant.

Generally, the law requires court review of government surveillance of suspected terrorists in the United States. It does not specifically address the government's ability to intercept messages believed to come from foreigners overseas - what the White House calls a significant gap in preventing attacks planned abroad.

The Bush administration began pressing for changes to the law after a recent ruling by the special FISA court barred the government from eavesdropping on foreign suspects whose messages were being routed through U.S. communications carriers, including Internet sites.

AP version two:

Bush, Democrats struggle for spy deal
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
22 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - House Democrats said Friday that negotiations had broken down over giving intelligence agents broader powers to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists, but Bush administration officials insisted talks were still under way.

Senate Democrats hoped to hold votes Friday night on the legislation to update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to make it easier for intelligence agents to tap into overseas phone calls and Internet message of suspected terrorists.

"We're still hopeful that something can be worked out," said Ellen Cioccio, a spokeswoman for Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell. "They're still talking."

House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes said talks were at a standstill after the White House reneged on an earlier offer accepted by Democrats.

Asked if the negotiations were still ongoing, Reyes said: "No."

Reyes, D-Texas, said Democrats had agreed to three points that McConnell said the Bush administration needed.

"The DNI subsequently sent us a rewritten piece of legislation that was about 80 percent different," Reyes said.

House Democrats moved toward a vote on a bill they wrote with much less generous powers than Bush wanted. But to rush that legislation through with little debate, they needed a two-thirds majority and weren't expected to get it.

President Bush earlier Friday implored lawmakers to update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before leaving Washington for a monthlong summer break — a potentially vulnerable time for attacks because of the high-travel season.

The president threatened to veto any bill by the Democratic-led Congress that his intelligence director deemed unable "to prevent an attack on the country."

"We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk," Bush said after meeting with counterterror and homeland security officials at FBI headquarters. "Time is short."

AP version three:

Bush, Democrats struggle for spy deal
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 2 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Congress and the White House struggled Friday over expanding authority to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists in a high-stakes showdown over national security.

"We're still hopeful that something can be worked out," said Ellen Cioccio, a spokeswoman for Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, after a day of fitful negotiations. "They're still talking."

Democratic leaders cleared the way for votes on different measures — at least two in the Senate and one in the House.

That left the outcome in doubt hours after Bush implored Congress to send him a bill before leaving this weekend on a monthlong vacation.

In the House, Democrats claimed they had acceded to White House requests, but Bush's aides disputed that.

Two bills emerged in the Senate, one with White House support, the other without.

In his remarks, Bush coupled his demand for legislation with a threat. He said would veto any bill by the Democratic-led Congress that his intelligence director deemed unable "to prevent an attack on the country."

"We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk," Bush said after meeting with counterterror and homeland security officials at FBI headquarters. "Time is short."