Dan Dillon's letter of Jan. 10 concerning the "phony" uproar about the National Security Agency spying on American citizens is just one more example of desperate Republicans putting spin on the issues. Most people I know, regardless of political persuasion, are not applauding the government, but have shivers going up their spines.
How much freedom do we want to give up for this war on terror? That is the question we should be debating. We, the people, should have a dialogue with our government to figure out where that line is drawn. Instead we have an administration who think they are above the law, and above the people, telling us to shut up and let them rule with autonomy.
Dillon's assertion about the so-called "Barrett Report" was a classic case of Republicans creating a boogeyman out of thin air to distract attention from other issues.
No one has seen the report, except the three independent judges who oversee independent counsel David Barrett. It has not been released. So Dillon's claim that anybody got "120 pages removed" from it is pure political fantasy.
The amendment Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, got Congress to approve, would require Barrett's report on his investigation of former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros to be released next month. It has been collecting dust on a shelf in Washington, D.C., for the last couple of years. Dorgan is trying to bring it to light, not hide it.
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The investigation was over six years ago. Cisneros pled guilty in 1999, paid a fine, and resigned from office. Yet independent counsel Barrett continues to spend taxpayer dollars - at the rate of $2 million a year. He's spent over $20 million so far.
I know the Republicans are smarting from the fallout from the Jack Abramoff scandal they are embroiled in. They would dearly love to start another conversation. But I think it is sad that Dillon would spread the kind of nonsense contained in his letter, and do so for such obvious and partisan reasons. The facts simply do not support what he claims.
Greg Cook
Fargo
