The Man Who Knew Too Much

The Justice Department announced a plea in the controversial Yemen leak investigation, and Hollywood script writers have some new material:

Former F.B.I. Agent Pleads Guilty in Leak to A.P.

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

WASHINGTON — A former F.B.I. agent has agreed to plead guilty to leaking classified information to The Associated Press about a foiled bomb plot in Yemen last year, the Justice Department announced Monday. In a twist, the former agent had already been under investigation in a separate child pornography case, and he has also agreed to a guilty plea in it.

That is a heck of a plot twist. The Times provides some details:

Federal investigators said they were able to identify the man, Donald Sachtleben, a former bomb technician, as a suspect in the leak case only after secretly obtaining A.P. reporters’ phone logs, a move that set off an uproar among journalists and members of Congress of both parties when it was disclosed in May.

Yeah, yeah, they needed the very broad subpoena, or so they say:

Nearly a year later, in May 2013, the Justice Department disclosed that after the F.B.I. had interviewed more than 550 officials and been unable to solve the case, investigators secretly used subpoenas to telephone companies to obtain calling records for 20 lines associated with A.P. bureaus and reporters. The scope and secrecy of the subpoenas outraged journalism organizations and lawmakers of both parties, who accused the department of going too far.

But what about the child pornography?

The Justice Department said the phone records had proved crucial in identifying Mr. Sachtleben as a suspect. In a bizarre coincidence, investigators then discovered that other law enforcement officials had already seized his computer and other electronic materials in an unrelated child pornography investigation.

In a bizarre coincidence they already had his computer and had searched it for kiddie porn but never noticed the classified info reportedly stored on it. Really? Or had they noticed the classified intel but were troubled by their lack of a plausible warrant authorizing a search for it?

Eventually the pieces fell into place for these fortunate investigators:

“Sachtleben was identified as a suspect in the case of this unauthorized disclosure only after toll records for phone numbers related to the reporter were obtained through a subpoena and compared to other evidence collected during the leak investigation,” the Justice Department said. “This allowed investigators to obtain a search warrant authorizing a more exhaustive search of Sachtleben’s cellphone, computer and other electronic media, which were in the possession of federal investigators due to the child pornography investigation.”

A court filing said agents discovered evidence that he had stored classified intelligence information on the computer without authorization, leading to a separate charge under the Espionage Act.

The timing of the kiddie porn case was extraordinary:

The court filing said that he met one of the A.P. reporters, identified only as Reporter A, in 2009, and that in the following years he helped the journalist with information about bomb-related issues.

One court filing quoted text messages in which the reporter reached out to Mr. Sachtleben on April 30, 2012, after ABC News reported that Mr. Asiri might have been working on bombs that could be surgically implanted. Mr. Sachtleben and the reporter exchanged several text messages, quoted in the court filing, speculating about the ABC report. As it turns out, the contractor was about to take a trip to Quantico. On May 2, he visited the lab where the underwear device was being examined, it said, and soon called the reporter.

Two and a half hours later, the court filing said, two A.P. reporters began calling government officials saying they knew that the United States government had intercepted a bomb from Yemen and that the F.B.I. was analyzing it.

The next day, May 3, 2012, law enforcement agents in Indiana, working on an unrelated case involving the distribution of child pornography on the Internet, obtained a search warrant for Mr. Sachtleben’s house, court filings show. They seized his computers on May 11.

So in the world being presented by the Justice Department and the Times, government officials became aware of an important leak when reporters began calling on May 2 2012 but only tracked the initial leak back to Schachtleben a year later.

But in the world I have been reading about lately the NSA has pretty much real-time access to all sorts of phone record metadata.

So in a slightly different world from the one described by the Times, worried intelligence officials found out almost immediately who the AP reporter had recently spoken with that might have compromised the Yemen probe (which involved British and Saudi intelligence in an operation that was ongoing as of May 2, so the US leak was a potential international embarrassment).

And the next day the improbable kiddie porn raid shuts the guy up. Seriously - a guy with 25 years with the FBI was trading kiddie porn under the crafty account of "[email protected]"? Hide in plain sight has been done.

Well. The Feds stifled him with the trumped-up kiddie porn charge and waited for the leak investigators to uncover a publicly plausible trail to the truth. But a year later, the leak investigation remained stalled. So, the AP subpoena, the new search warrants for the already-seized computer, et voila. All very above-board, and who will doubt it?

Meanwhile, the Times slides right past an obvious question - Sachtleben may have leaked to the AP about the fact that the Yemen bomb was in the possession of the FBI (original story), but it was in follow-ups that the leaks about the Saudi/British double agent were published. To be fair, the Times probably won't be aggressively investigating other news agencies leaks, but still, here is the timeline they present:

On May 7, 2012, The A.P. broke the news that the bomb plot had been disrupted, setting off further disclosures.

That evening, Richard A. Clarke, a former Clinton administration national security official who had been briefed on the case by John O. Brennan, then the top White House counterterrorism official and now the C.I.A. director, said the plot never came close to being carried out because it was under “insider control” by intelligence officials.

Soon, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times [link] and other news organizations reported that the would-be suicide bomber in the operation had been a double agent.

So a possibility is that Sachtleben tipped the AP to the existence of the bomb plot. Other officials then disclosed during their victory lap that the Brits and Saudis had been involved. And now Sachtleben takes the fall for everything, and why not, since he is dealer in kiddie porn anyway? That saves Eric Holder from having to figure out who at Obama 2012 the White House might have leaked the follow-up details and saves the press from yet another nasty investigation, so win-win-win. [US N&WR says this investigation is not over, but probably over; the double agent leaker was Richard Clarke, so move on:

The story that prompted the probe was a May 7, 2012, report by The Associated Press, which revealed the White House and Department of Homeland Security incorrectly claimed there was no credible terror threat on the anniversary of bin Laden's death. In truth, there was a terror plot to blow up a U.S.-bound airplane using a difficult-to-detect bomb.

But the arguably more damaging piece of information – that an undercover agent had infiltrated Yemen's al-Qaida affiliate – was actually disclosed by Richard Clarke, a former official in the Clinton administration, after the initial May 7 article.

Clarke, Reuters reported, was provided the information by then-Homeland Security Adviser John Brennan, who briefed former government officials before they went on TV to discuss the plot.

Neither man has been charged with committing a crime. Brennan now serves as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and unnamed White House officials vehemently denied to Reuters he improperly disclosed classified information.

"This is a really complex investigation and we do have additional steps that we're taking," a federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the leak probe told U.S. News.

"THEY'RE ALL INSANE": The Sachtleben arrest was so unlikely on its face that back in the day it was linked to the bizarre disappearance of FBI agent Stephen Ivens. However, the source of the link is the EU Times, which has no credibility, and Sorcha Fall, aka Source Fail.

Knowing what we know now about the capabilites of the NSA, I think it is entirely plausible that they identified the Sachtleben/Yemen leak connection immediately and then felt obliged to conceal their knowledge. As to why he is not fighting the kiddie porn charges, its because they have him on other serious stuff. Well, maybe. Or maybe we have been told the full truth and nothing but the truth.

Comments

[henry]

Did Lerner retire just ahead of the kiddie pron police? According to her, she did nothing else wrong. /sarc

Does access to private info lead to kiddie pron, or visa versa?

[Danube of Thought]

That's a mighty long post, Tom.

[narciso]

Yeah, that story doesn't make sense, does it,
the source of the info, not the device was the key element, as I addressed in a free standing series of posts, a year and a half ago. But it would not do to point the finger at that detail.

[4JIB2]

As I understand it, this is the 7th successful leak case compared to only 3 in the last 20 to 30 years. I could be wrong about the latter time period but its something like that.

It is supposed to send a chill down the spine of any insider in DC to keep their collective mouths shut about the fascists and incompetents in the Obama regime. Putin is rubbing off on Barry but in the wrong ways.

[Clarice]

Excellent winkling out the truth, TM!

[Account Deleted]

Does the Department of Justice Kiddie Porn Annex report directly to Holder or does Jarret get first peek? Is the decision to download from the DoJ site to the targeted individual strictly political or does the DoJ also plant Kiddie Porn evidence in criminal matters?

[Clarice]

And don't forget the leak to reporters that Blagojevich's phone was tapped just as the wH was about to be involved, a leak, old Fitz didn't seem concerned about.

[matt]

Screw these bastards. That one came from the top and everyone knows it. Welcome to Stalinism lite.

[NK(tryin' again)]

Marc Thiessen artiulates what I've been trying to say about winning the debt fight this year and ObummerCare IN THE FUTURE.:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marc-thiessen-what-the-gop-can-learn-from-putin/2013/09/23/fc6c6b92-2453-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_story.html

[narciso]

It doesn't really match does it;

http://narcisoscorner.blogspot.com/2012/05/portrait-of-yemeni-spyby-narcisoit-is.html

but I'm not Charlie Savage or whoever McClatchy drone they rustled up.

[NK(tryin' again)]

This is what any POTUS would do if the ENTIRE LEGACY MEDIA allowed him to get away with it.. and they have.

[jimmyk]

I need an executive summary of TM's post.

[narciso]

In other news, Deblasio is Acorn's candidate,
so maybe it would have been better if the creep stayed in,

[Extraneus]

Imagine having the feds on your ass these days?

[Threadkiller]

"Last night on Bret Bair's Fox News show two members of the panel went Birther on Senator Ted Cruz. Fox News' Weekend Morning Show co-host Tucker Carlson said there are questions about Sen. Cruz's eligibility to run for president. Charles Krauthammer later chimed in that if Sen. Cruz didn't win the presidency he could be prime minister of Canada. Former CNN reporter John Roberts was sitting in for Bret Bair."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ6I5haCyBs

The men that know very little...

[NK(tryin' again)]

DeBlasio = ACORN = WFP (NYC 1199 heathcare workers union commie party)

[Beasts of England]

Well, I always operate under the assumption that we've been told the full truth and nothing but the truth...

[centralcal]

Clarice, if you are around - I was checking my email spam folder and found a Twitter DM from you (direct email message from Twitter) sent yesterday. So, I accepted it and sent it to my In-Box.

Unfortunately, it was a link to a spam video. Thought I should alert you.

[Danube of Thought]

I think what needs to be said is that very little can be done about the deficit without substantial reductions in entitlement spending, and hardly anyone has made any proposals in that area. That's probably just as well, because the only reductions that could possibly be enacted by this congress and signed by this president would be heavily redistributionist, viz. means testing. The hell with it.

[Danube of Thought]

if Sen. Cruz didn't win the presidency he could be prime minister of Canada

Entirely a question of Canadian law.

[Extraneus]

Watchdog questions $174G death benefit for millionaire senator's wife

WASHINGTON – As D.C. lawmakers talk tough over a looming government shutdown, one item House members have not said much about is a six-figure “gift” they tucked into the latest spending bill. The little-noticed provision would pay the widow of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg – who was a millionaire -- $174,000 in tax-free funds.

The payment is part of a time-honored practice of paying out death benefits to lawmakers' families. But it's caught the eye of government watchdogs who say it's time to put an end to that practice.

[narciso]

Steyn, who has an ear for vaudeville, called this 'Dictator Week' at the UN, like fashion week in New York.

http://nypost.com/2013/09/24/acorn-sowed-seeds-for-de-blasio/

[Threadkiller]

"Entirely a question of Canadian law."

Actually it is a question of Canadian voters.

[NK(tryin' again)]

[email protected]:11-- very true. The Debt Fight right now is getting the Obummer spending spree out of the Fed budget, the green subsidy nonsense, SNAP/Medicaid expansion and Stimulus baseline increases, that's about $250- 300B/year-- quite alot to shoot for. The other $300B structural spending deficit that compounds every year is Soc sec/MediCare/medicaid-- I agree with you, that will only be addressed when the Debt Bomb goes off and interest payments head North of $500B/year creating a crisis.

[Extraneus]

Section 134 of the appropriations bill passed by the House states: “Notwithstanding any other provisions of this joint resolution, there is appropriated for payment to Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, widow of Frank R. Lautenberg, late a Senator for New Jersey, $174,000.”

They're mighty generous, aren't they? Lautenberg was worth over $55M.

[centralcal]

Just saw this over at MOTUS:

Pretty much how I feel about the GOP these days.

[Danube on iPad]

"Actually it is a question of Canadian voters."

His eligibility to seek the office is a question of law.

[narciso]

This is what we saw in my fishwrap;

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/24/203020/former-fbi-agent-to-plead-guilty.html#.UkG9gT_DLFx

[Danube on iPad]

"Tucker Carlson said there are questions about Sen. Cruz's eligibility to run for president."

Hey, I've got an idea! Let's discuss what those questions are, and analyze how they might be answered.

[pinkman]

Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is why they shit a brick over the leak.

He's apparently some kind of genius in bomb-making, unlike the majority of screw-ups with a bun on. He's the one they can't control and those loose cannons make for poor false flags as the outcome is less certain. They would prefer to make the bomb for the hapless wanderers to stuff in their jock-straps or strap-ons and then point them in the right direction. They don't normally have trouble walking upright..

[narciso]

Actually he's not, he was responsible for his brother's device that did explode, but also the underwear bombers that didn't go off, and those ink cartridge devices,

[Threadkiller]

Eligibility to "seek" not "hold" the office?

[pinkman]

Don't worry about DeBlasio. If he becomes the mayor, it's comforting to know no NYC mayor has ever ascended to the WH. In fact, I don't think ANY mayor has.

[narciso]

It is curious how this played out, al Shehri, went Norwegian blue, not long after
the leak came out, Wuhayshi was promoted to middle management, and Asiri moved up,

[4JIB2]

Grover Cleveland was mayor of Buffalo and Calvin Coolidge was mayor of Northampton, MA.

[Threadkiller]

"An alleged Harvard Law School roommate of Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) who was quoted provocatively in Jason Zengerle’s profile of Cruz for GQ magazine is a convicted DUI offender and a recently disbarred attorney."

http://freebeacon.com/source-in-ted-cruz-gq-article-is-a-disbarred-convict/

[Danube on iPad]

Has he gone mad?

"President Obama told the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday morning that the 'world is more stable now than it was five years ago.'"

[Old Lurker test]

Poor Tucker. I will never see him other than in a stupid bow tie.

[jimmyk]

Bill DeBlasio is no Grover Cleveland or Calvin Coolidge.

[NK(tryin' again)]

'...quoted provocatively..." Huh... the whole GQ thing was weak tea, in the worst light, Cruz was portrayed as intellectually arrogant.. and a poor poker player. Poor poker? that maybe explains the 'defund filibuster' tactic. Perhaps Cruz has a bit of Vizzini in him.

[4JIB2]

jimmyk,

Not my point, only informing pinkman that there have been mayor's elected to President.

[narciso]

He's not even Grover Cleveland Alexander, if anything he's a white version of Obama,

[NK(tryin' again)]

DeBlasio isn't even Tammany Man Al Smith; DeBlasio is an authetic Alinskyite commie.

[jimmyk]

I realize that JiB, I just couldn't resist the comment.

Yes, narc, in more ways than people may realize, as he has no executive experience, sketchy radical background, and uses the race card via his wife and kids.

[4JIB2]

DoT,

Actually, the earth is more stable than 5 years ago:)

"Earth's rotational axis and the normal to the plane of its orbit (obliquity) oscillates between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees on a 41,000-year cycle. It is currently 23.44 degrees and decreasing."

I'll bet even Putin didn't know that.

[NK(tryin' again)]

Obama is more 'white' than DeBlasio in almost every cultural respect. I am dead serious about that.

[Jane]

Driving back from Court the guy filling in for Rush was talking about a deal Iran made with Obama - to get lots of aid from us and give us access to their nukes.

Tell me teh guy was dreaming..

[narciso]

It's Mark Beling, the talk guy from Wisconsin,

[Threadkiller]

Shannon Bream is absolutely beautiful. I just noticed the rate at which she speaks. Very, very fast, but with amazing clarity.

Also, I would like to nominate Chris Stirewalt for moderator for future Presidential debates.

[Danube on iPad]

Gallup:

"PRINCETON, NJ -- Six in 10 Americans (60%) believe the federal government has too much power, one percentage point above the previous high recorded in September 2010. At least half of Americans since 2005 have said the government has too much power. Thirty-two percent now say the government has the right amount of power. Few say it has too little power."

[pinkman]

"Actually he's not, he was responsible for his brother's device that did explode, but also the underwear bombers that didn't go off, and those ink cartridge devices,"

Well, that is the cover story.

[NK(tryin' again)]

I repeat myself-- but Tom Sowell agrees that the Cruz defund filibuster is a counterproductive distraction... Cruz is being all about Ted here-- let's start talking about the DEBT and Jobs-- ObummerCare will crumble the faster we have that conversation: http://hotair.com/archives/2013/09/24/sowell-defunding-strategy-futile-and-foredoomed/

[Charlie (Colorado)]

if Sen. Cruz didn't win the presidency he could be prime minister of Canada

Guys, it was a joke. I dunno about Tucker, but Krauthammer was making one in a long line of running jokes about Canada.

[NK(tryin' again)]

Canada doesn't need Cruz, they have Harper.

[narciso]

Yes, but it wasn't intended as such, bssides Alberta is their Texas,

[Frau Gaudi! Radi! Musi!]

Keep 'em coming, ChaCo.
It's always a treat to see you pop in here. And, yes, I know where to find you elsewhere.

[bgates]

At least half of Americans since 2005 have said the government has too much power.

At least a few of those people reacted to that concern by delivering Congress into the hands of Pelosi and Reid, and when that didn't fix things, electing and reelecting our Mussolini Impersonator-in-Chief.

[NK(tryin' again)]

"Mussolini Impersonator-in-Chief"

Absolutely LOL funny. Did Obummer do the Mussolini lip thing at the UN today?

[Frau Gaudi! Radi! Musi!]

Carpe carp!
The Doom keeps on coming. I just saw that McOffal is leading again in VA. Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy the government.

If the public can't understand the disaster of (C)ACA, what chance is there with understanding our debt problem?

[narciso]

It's much closer then that, Frau, of course the fact that ambulance chasinf weasel, the Real Saul Goodman, is on the map is distressing.

[Jane]

So no deal with Iran?

[Barry O]

It is currently 23.44 degrees and decreasing

Yes, uh, that...istrue. You see, scientifically - and I know my friends in the Republican party would much rather watch babies die than hear the word "science" (big grin) - scientifically what happened was that the seas began to recede in 2008. Now, it wasn't just my words that did it. It was all of us who were inspired by my words, who worked together to build a viable and thriving green energy sector, and that's why today the world is as cold as 23.44 degrees.

But our work isn't finished. You see, that 23.44 degrees is measured in what scientists call the Kelsius scale. In...our units, that is nearly 90 degrees. Now, Republicans...it's not that they're bad people, they're just willing to see the country become a barren wasteland if it means more profits for the oil companies. So we have to fight them, punish them, and destroy them and their antiquated anti-woman and racist views once and for all.

Thank you, bless you, and may I continue to bless the United States of America.

[DrJ]

degrees is measured in what scientists call the Kelsius scale. In...our units, that is nearly 90 degrees.

Two mistakes here -- anyone? :)

[lyle]

From NK's Wapo link:

The GOP needs to be smart and outmaneuver Obama

Anyone taking odds here?

[NK(tryin' again)]

1:54 is a fucking illiterate idiot with no ironic humor ability.

[Threadkiller]

I wonder how many people considered the abolitionist movement and women's suffrage "futile and foredoomed" when they were first discussed in the halls of congress.

[narciso]

Well it's right up there with Toure, placing Kenya in North Africa.

[NK(tryin' again)]

Dr.J -- why even respond to a fucking illiterate (both science and language) idiot such as that.

[henry]

Easy on the O DrJ, its as accurate as anything that clown has ever said.

(misspelled Celsius, converted incorrectly to Fahrenheit, axial tilt is not a temperature).

[AliceH]

Dave (in MA) - looks like maybe your twitter got hacked and you need to change your password? Unless you intended to send me a direct message advising me to click a link to NSWF dot ORG/personal_post dot html ?

Per Bing, that belongs to the National Social Welfare Foundation (NSWF), "a non Profit and Government Registered organization. Head office is situated at New Delhi, Regional Office is in Chennai" ...

[Some Guy]

uhmmm, I think the 1:54 isn't what some think it is (hint, it's quite funny).

[NK(tryin' again)]

Well abolition LOST politically in this country... The War Between the States did not begin over abolition, and the Emancipation Proclamation was a miltary tactic in what had become Total War of annihilation.

[4JIB2]

Isn't this a little like major league baseball saying that during the next player's strike they'll keep the stadiums open and the concessions operating?

DC Considers Defying Congress by Refusing Shutdown

[Janet]

DC Considers Defying Congress by Refusing Shutdown

Don't you wish oil companies would do this. Can't drill in ANWR....well, you come up here & stop us.

[NK(tryin' again)]

There's good ironic humor, and then there's.... apologies IF (IF) 1:54 confusion's of temperature scales and orbital angles was deliberate and an attempt to apply the illiteracy to Obummer. I just don't think it's funny.

[Ignatz]

Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine and Doctor Howard, emergency sarcasm/parody meter transplant needed in patient NK's room, stat!

[NK(tryin' again)]

2:12 though IS very funny...

[NK(tryin' again)]

ANWR?... how 'bout Keystone?, the relevant Govs just issue construction permits from Canada down to Cushing, and let the Black Gold roll, what's Obummer gonna do, DroneBomb the construction workers? That would be a Constitutional Crisis worth watching.

[Threadkiller]

After slavery was abolished, the Abolitionists would lose politically.

[NK(tryin' again)]

So DC wants 'states rights'? noble sentiment... wasn't there some dispute and hard feelings about this in the 1960s and 1860s?

[daddy]

Judge Napolitano on FOX says that the instant Lois Lerner retires she gets her Retirement paycheck and that that paycheck can never be taken away from her, regardless if in future she is convicted in a court of criminality in the IRS case. He says that is the Law.

[narciso]

Well they conjure up cash out of thin air, QE infiniti, so would this be so much of a stretch.

[Janet]

Well...we wouldn't want to ignore the Law.
Ask any of the illegals here in our country... the Law must be obeyed.

I guess you can only ignore the Law if you are a Dem federal worker or if you are an illegal.

[daddy]

As to who pays for Lois Lerner's
Legal representation in case of being prosecuted and sued, Napolitano says:

"that if the core of the allegations against her in any Civil Lawsuit go to her behavior as an IRS Official, then the Government will probably defend her as long as they have the money to do so. If the core of the allegations against her are so far afield from her work related activities then she's going to have to hire her own Lawyer. If she's indicted, prosecuted and acquitted she sends her Legal Bill to the Feds and we pay for it."

[Frau Gaudi! Radi! Musi!]

In the end, there's nothing funny about Obama. We must, however, ridicule the man as he continues to destroy the country. Unless there is a deus ex machina in our future, it seems that is *all* we can do.

daddy, I expect crooked Lois to land another, fab job as a reward for her decades of "service." Ayers, Boudin and Dohrn made out like bandits. Oh, wait...

[NK(tryin' again)]

The DC politicians are complaining about the inability to pay their own 30,000-- 30,000!! city employees in a City of 600,000+, 1 employee for every 20 people unreal-- without a Congressional appropriation. DC's problem is that is Constitutional since 1789, they've all known the deal. But let's expand their point to the Sovereign States that don't like what Congress or POTUS does, can they simply ignore Congressional laws and Executive Orders they don't like? Are we all States Rights Party members now?, because urban Libs in DC believe that? Libs have no knowledge of history or sense of irony.

[MarkO]

For this thread I can say only this: que sera, sera.

[MaryM]

I thought 1:54 was 1) hysterically funny and 2) bgates using a funny handle.

[DrJ]

I agree, MaryM.

[(A) nuther Bub]

I always thought nothing was more lame than a sarcasm tag but now I'm wondering. I assumed 1:54 was bgates, or someone nearly as "may-I-continue-to-bless-the-USA" clever.

[Threadkiller]

Cruz is up on Cspan2

[(A) nuther Bub]

Oops. Posted before I saw yours MaryM. We agree.

[daddy]

Good common sense point from Brit Hume.

He says that the reason the Repub's usually get blamed for Government shutdowns is that, in general, the Republican's are rightly perceived as the Party that is against Big Government, whereas the Dem's are correctly perceived as the Party that is in love with Big Government and intent on making it bigger. Therefore, deserved or not, the impression is that whenever Government is shut down for whatever reason it is the fault of the Party that dislikes Government, the Republicans.

[Threadkiller]

It is tough to tell if he is beginning his filibuster or if he is announcing his intentions to do so at the appropriate time.

Earlier Reid said the rules won't allow a filibuster until Wed.

[centralcal]

TK: This is NOT a filibuster.

He says it is to Make DC Listen - and he will speak until he cannot any longer.

[Threadkiller]

If this is the intro to the filibuster, I am all in!

"This is about making DC listen."

[Clarice]

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/092013-671982-40-little-lies-the-media-tell-about-obamacare-.htm

Some media lies--what else is new?

[NK(tryin' again)]

"TK: This is NOT a filibuster.
He says it is to Make DC Listen - and he will speak until he cannot any longer."

Is Sen Cruz yielding to reality of the CR, and beginning to educate the public about the need to not raise Debt until spending is substantilly reduced and ObummerCare completely delayed and the 'waivers' revoked as a condition of any more debt?

[Ranger]

This is a pretty good roundup of the situation:

Mitch McConnell: Ted Cruz’s filibuster would shut down the government and keep ObamaCare funded; Update: Cruz to launch “talking filibuster” at 2:30

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/09/24/mitch-mcconnell-ted-cruzs-filibuster-would-shut-down-the-government-and-keep-obamacare-funded/

This, I think, is the key bit:

Without the filibuster, though, Pryor will have to vote on Reid’s amendment stripping the “defund” language from the House bill. That vote will split on party lines and Reid can only afford to lose three Democrats from his caucus to get to a simple majority of 51. That means one or more red-state Dems who are up for reelection next year — Pryor, Landrieu, Hagan, Begich, and so on — will have to bite the bullet and vote yes, then go home and explain why to angry conservatives. Who wants to volunteer?

Looks like everyone is going to get what they want out of this. Curz gets to grandstand and play Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, and McConnell gets to watch Reid Play the crewman on the Titanic trying to keep the lifeboats from overflowing with red state Dems.

[Threadkiller]

He is trashing the idea of "unanimous consent" as the vehicle that huge spending bills get through congress, NK.