I'm reminded of an anecdote that shortly after becoming Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara asked to see the military's nuclear plans, such as what was targetted in case of war.

He was told sorry, no one gets to see that info.

He had to get the White House to intervene to get to see the info.

How long until the security establishment decides it can't trust the president with some info? Remember Plame...

It's no wonder the presidents often feel out of control, much less others trying to do oversight. One of the Bay of Pigs Cuban leaders wrote a book asserting that they'd worked out a plan with the CIA 'handlers' at their camp, that if Kennedy had cancelled the invasion, they'd have a phony revolt where the Cubans overpowered the CIA agents, tied them up and left to do the invasion regardless of the orders.

Eisenhower's warning seems more important all the time.

Congress should act now and force the security organizations to cooperate with the investigators.

Can we at least get them for plagiarism? This sounds exactly like Joseph Heller.

SHENANIGANS!!!!! How transparent is all of this anyway?

I love how this administration works. The threat of something being classified actually prevents other agencies from doing their job. Thus, we have effectively no oversight whatsoever. I simply wonder if a Democrat takes over the White House in 2008 (assuming at least one house of the congress also turns "blue") will we actually be able to retreive information at that time? We must see what this administration has done to this country. I predict DECADES to heal from all the damage these hacks are doing.

Whaddya mean "unable to investigate?"

More like "unable to resist totalitarian power." A=A

A successful block at every turn!

Attorney General Gonzales now runs the "Obstruction of Justice Department"! ;-)

Do you think that the Constitutional Congress ever considered a contingency such as this? The three branches of government and the fourth estate are all under the control of a corrupting influence. At some point, I hope that the goodness of human nature within certain brave individuals, even amidst the most corrupt of administrations, would undermine this totalitarian conspiracy. The Constitution cannot act by itself. It's just a piece of paper.

Of course no part of the Bush admin is going to investigate another part of the Bush admin. And the Repub congress and Repub judiciary(Supreme Court) would never allow such a thing to occur. All of these entities are corrupt and criminal and covering up for each other.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The entire Repub party is completely corrupt and complicit in this conspiracy of corruption going all the way back to the Nixon admin.

I say that and I'm not even a Dem, rather I am an American who fears greatly for our country. I forsee no way out of this predicament. The Repub party is very tightly unified despite some claims that they are coming apart.

When it comes to 'crunch time' a Repub will always stand up for Repub idealogy first and will stand up for America not at all or last of all.

There is something terribly wrong with the Repub party. I can never remember the Repub party being quite this bad except during the Nixon era.

There is no security reason so important that any agency cannot be investigated. Placing an agency above the law is, as we can all see, creating a hotbed for growing violations against our American democracy and nothing nor no reason trumps our American democracy.

The agency which should be investigating corruption is run by George Bush and the most corrupt lawyer in America, Alberto Gonzales.

Not only must Bush and Cheney be impeached and thrown into jail but so too must Alberto Gonzales.

I feel that congress cannot write enough laws fast enough to protect America from unprincipled and immoral lawyers who can justify anything no matter how corrupt, criminal or un-American. It seems to me that the only people more corrupt than a lawyer is a politician. But then aren't most politicians lawyers?

Bob DAmico