Remember that Investigation of the NSA...

Remember the investigation into the NSA spying program that got squashed because the Administration lawyers doing the review couldn't get a security clearance to learn about the program? Surprise, suprise! It was President Bush himself that blocked the investigation by withholding those clearances.

Under sharp questioning from Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, Gonzales said that Bush would not grant the access needed to allow the probe to move forward.

“It was highly classified, very important and many other lawyers had access. Why not OPR?” asked Specter, R-Pa.

“The president of the United States makes the decision,” Gonzales told the committee hearing, during which he was strongly criticized on a range of national security issues by Specter and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the panel’s senior Democrat.

Oy. Anything to avoid a legal review of the program - even by his own lawyers!