Feinstein “I Don’t Get Ulcers I Give Them”
Why is Diane Feinstein spoiling for a fight with the White House?
White House faces growing fury in Congress over Bowe Bergdahl deal
“I think that they expected everybody just to fall in line,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of those who received a personal apology from a senior White House aide.Feinstein said the White House failed to anticipate that bypassing Congress would provoke anger on both sides of the aisle. The discovery that the five Afghans were top-ranking Taliban commanders has fueled concerns that the trade may endanger U.S. security.
“This is an issue that certainly those of us on the Intelligence Committee care a great deal about,” Feinstein said. “Because we believe that there is potential danger from certain of these five people.”
Why does she doubt our ability to deal with the threat?
Last Year-
With controversy flaring anew over the National Security Agency and its regimen of eavesdropping on friend and foe alike, President Obama is just the latest to experience the stomach-acid-inducing ire of California’s scolding senator.
Feinstein has been one of the NSA’s strongest defenders and one of Obama’s staunchest allies in the debate over where to draw the line on sanctioned snooping. But when news broke of U.S. spying on world leaders and the country’s supposed allies, she let loose. “It is my understanding that President Obama was not aware Chancellor [Angela] Merkel’s communications were being collected since 2002,” said Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, referring to Germany’s leader. “That is a big problem.”
Feinstein’s admonishment reverberated for many reasons, not least because it came from a member of Obama’s own Democratic Party, a rare break in Washington’s increasingly regimented partisan ranks.
More: Feinstein in Familiar Role as She Scolds Obama Over NSA Scandal - Los Angeles Times