Leave a Comment

Obama Snubs Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein
Tennessee Guerilla Women — ... It turns out that Dianne Feinstein, the incoming Intelligence chairwoman (and Jay Rockefeller, the outgoing Intelligence chairperson), -- privately recommended someone with experience. ...

It’s all Water under the Board
Firedoglake — Being determined to be bipartisan about some things is bad enough -- being determined to be bipartisan about other things is simply immoral. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Diane Fienstein and Jay Rockefeller: ...

It's all Water under the Board
Rising Hegemon — Being determined to be bipartisan about some things is bad enough -- being determined to be bipartisan about other things is simply immoral. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Diane Fienstein and Jay Rockefeller: NBC News has learned that Senate Democrats -- including Dianne Feinstein and Jay Rockefeller, who are the incoming and outgoing Intelligence chairmen -- have privately recommended a career CIA officer to head the agency. Democratic sources indicate that both have recommended deputy CIA Director Steve Kappes, a ...

Leon Panetta
Comments from Left Field — ... Apparently, Feinstein and Jay Rockefeller (the previous Intelligence Committee chair), had their hearts set on Steve Kappes. ...

Hullabaloo — ... to make those decisions based not on burying the past but rooting it out. THAT'S what has DiFi and Jello Jay spooked. In fact, they wanted Michael Hayden's right-hand man to take over. ...

Bayh Backs Panetta
The Stump — ... ?) and Intelligence Committee member lauds the choice, as well as the man whom Dianne Feinstein and Jay Rockefeller are said to have preferred. His statement: ...

Bayh Hedges His Bets on Panetta
TPM Election Central — ... Panetta, whose unexpected selection has opened a schism among Senate Democrats. But he also hailed the skills of Steve Kappes, the current CIA No 2 who is reportedly Dianne Feinstein and Jay Rockefeller's preferred pick to lead the agency. Here's Bayh's statement: ...

Bayh Supports Panetta Pick
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room — ... expressed concern about Panetta's lack of experience in private, and both had reportedly recommended Deputy CIA Director Steve Kappes for the job. Bayh expressed "high regard" for Kappes in the same statement today. "At the same time, I have very high regard for Steve Kappes, the deputy director of the CIA. I've been in some extremely sensitive meetings involving matters of life and death with him and have been impressed by his competency. I hope we can convince both Mr. Panetta and Mr. Kappes to work together at the CIA for the sake of our country's national security," Bayh ...

Blogtalk: The Panetta Surprise
The Caucus — ... Washington player–kind of a Mr. Fixit in a nice suit. He is also a zero-tolerance critic of the use of torture, and he considers waterboarding — a tactic used by the CIA — to be torture,” Mr. Corn wrote. “By picking Panetta, Obama is repudiating the waterboarding ways of the Bush-Cheney administration.” And although Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, and the new chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well her predecessor, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, expressed doubts about whether Mr. Panetta was the best candidate for the job, the California ...

On Swearing-in Day, a Lesson in Comity
TPM Election Central — ... Was this merely a question of a powerful senator objecting to the lack of comity afforded her? Apparently not, as Feinstein and her intel panel predecessor Jay Rockefeller have questioned Panetta's qualifications and voiced support for the current CIA No 2, Steven Kappes. Whether or not Kappes stays on as a way to sooth skeptical senators, Panetta's confirmation hearing is bound to shed a stark light on the CIA's involvement in Bush-era interrogation tactics. ...