Editorial: Bulldog on a choke collar

Wednesday, June 14, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, who in February said that President Bush's domestic surveillance program was "in flat violation of" federal law, is wavering on legislation that he proposed and that would subject such eavesdropping to court supervision.

Specter also once said he would subpoena the executives of major telecommunications companies to find out what data the National Security Agency had sought from them. But a week ago, Specter struck a bargain with Vice President Dick Cheney and agreed to hold off on seeking such testimony in exchange for Bush and Cheney considering the merits of his proposed legislation.

The very next day, Cheney wrote an unapologetic letter telling Specter that "the president ultimately will make a decision" as to whether any legislation is necessary. Specter then learned that Cheney had been lobbying Judiciary Committee members behind his back, asking them to deflect Specter's efforts to obtain information on the surveillance program.

Angered anew, Specter on Sunday told CNN that he would, too, subpoena those telecommunications executives if he saw fit. Unfortunately, Bush and Cheney already have told the executives not to answer any questions. Checkmate. Game over.

Democrats are disgusted by the whole situation. Last week, USA Today reports, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Judiciary's ranking Democrat, suggested that the Senate recess for the rest of the year "and the vice president will just tell the nation what laws we'll have."

Regardless of his seemingly renewed vigor this week, Specter's legislation still lacks a requirement that the president be subject to some kind of federal oversight when he is secretly eavesdropping on Americans' telephone calls.

Thanks to yapping but toothless bulldogs such as Specter, Bush is going to keep doing it.

Wonder what Cheney will teach Specter to do next? He already has successfully trained the senator to roll over.