It appears that Bolton will never be confirmed as UN Ambassador. The Rs are losing supporters for clouture, as opposed to gaining them, and the WH still refuses to release the info requested by the Dems.
And although I've mentioned this before, it bears repeating, because press reports are not clear. Bolton was using his office as Undersecretary of State to spy on his own country, and presumably those he thought were his rivals in the administration.
Bolton requested, apparently several times, what the media euphemistically calls "intercepts" by the NSA of different Government officials. These "intercepts" are surreptitious recordings collected by the NSA using Echelon of all electronic forms of communication. Bolton wanted to know what our spies had on his rivals. Needless to say, this is some of the most sensitive information in the possession of the US Gov't.
Several issues are raised by Bolton's requests that could be embarrassing to the Bushies. For instance, just how much spy info does the US collect on it's own people and what kind of checks exists on the release of this info? Just how easy is it for a State Dept official to gain access to highly sensitive info gathered by spies on his or her rivals? Was this info just given to Bolton for the asking? Didn't anyone question his need for this info?
The Dems are correct to want some answers, although I can't imagine they will ever get them.
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