By requiring the director of national intelligence to vet the president's
statements, your legislation almost seems like a concession that the usual
Senate oversight isn't working. That's something the Senate Intelligence
Committee might have been able to do itself.

You know, it's interesting. I'm very concerned about this. And so I
called two people who I care about a great deal who were both chairs of the
Intelligence Committee, Bob Kerrey and Bob Graham. You know, there were
different things that could be done because [the Republicans and the Bush
administration] were just simply ignoring us. We could all resign, say, "OK,
well, this doesn't work anyway."

But the intelligence committees that we have in the House and the Senate
were set up to serve a purpose, so that there would not be the assassination of
Pinochet. Not Pinochet, but who was the leader of the country, who'd they kill
-- Allende. That's how this all came about. And so it was after due
consideration -- going to hang in there. It's not as if nothing is happening.
You know, all the hot spots, they come in and tell them about that. So there's
still some function.

But I think we've come to learn that the intelligence community in America
is run by one person -- one person -- and that's the vice president. [Sen. Pat]
Roberts, who is the supposed chair of that committee -- I shouldn't say
"supposed chair"; he is the chair -- he can't do anything without [Dick Cheney].

Let me give you an example. Jay Rockefeller had surgery, and it turned out
a lot worse than we expected. It was spinal surgery, so he could not do his job.
He had to stay home. We had worked and struggled to have a three-member
Democratic oversight committee to oversee NSA stuff. They could review
everything. That was the deal that was made -- Rockefeller, Levin and [Dianne]
Feinstein. Rockefeller can't be there, so I talk to [Senate Majority Leader
Bill] Frist, and I say, "What we need to do is have somebody replace, at least
on a temporary basis, and the fourth person in seniority is [Oregon Sen.] Ron
Wyden."

So Frist, he doesn't do anything. After a couple of days, he says, "Talk to
Pat Roberts, talk to Pat Roberts." And a day or two later, Pat Roberts says,
"The vice president doesn't want me to do that."

Everything is run through the vice president -- everything.