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"This is a big problem, because the law is very clear," Feinstein said as the details of Cheney's wrongdoing began to come to light. "If the Intelligence Committees had been briefed, they could have asked for regular reports on the program, they could have made judgments about the program as it went along. That was not the case, because we were kept in the dark. That's something that should never, ever happen again."



The intelligence committee chair--whose power is usually matched only by her caution--bluntly suggested that Cheney had acted illegally.



"I think you weaken your case when you go outside the law," Feinstein said. "We should have been briefed before the commencement of this kind of sensitive program."



Of course, there will be push back from the defenders of the indefensible. "It is not out of the ordinary for the vice president to be involved in an issue like this," said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, (R-Arizona). Kyl point is well taken; the Arizonan has worked with several vice presidents who have been "involved in an issue like this." George Herbert Walker Bush was all wrapped up in the Iran-Contra scandal and Cheney's regard for the rule of law is so dismissive as to make him a prime suspect whenever a shredded copy of the Constitution is uncovered.



But the fact that the Congress failed to hold the elder Bush to account for his high crimes and misdemeanors does not absolve Cheney of responsibility for what he has done. Not, it should be noted, does it absolve Congress.



Durbin is precisely right when he says:



(We) know that Vice President Cheney played an unusual role with President Bush in the early days of the administration. That seemed to change over time.





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