Freshly briefed lawmakers to question Hayden today - baltimoresun.com

OK, so lawmakers have been briefed. Now, what about the people?

Not sure we trust the Congress that has rolled over for the Bushites time and time again.

Freshly briefed lawmakers to question Hayden today - baltimoresun.com:

"Yesterday, after a sudden reversal by the White House, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the current NSA director, briefed the House and Senate intelligence committees on the details of the surveillance program. Only select members of each panel had been privy to the information before yesterday's briefing.

Lawmakers were tight-lipped about the contents of those conversations, but most said they appreciated being able to hear more about the programs.

'It levels the playing field' because now all of the committees' members have the same information, said Sen. Christopher S. Bond, a Missouri Republican who had been briefed earlier on the NSA programs.

Hayden's defense of the warrantless surveillance program, which was disclosed in December, has raised the hackles of some senators, some of whom have suggested that it could derail his nomination.

A Democratic intelligence committee aide said yesterday's briefings took 'some of the wind out of that sail,' but committee members are still expected to press Hayden on the civil liberties element of the program in the public hearings."