Obama nominee to head FBI defends NSA spying in Senate testimony
■ The deputy attorney general under George W. Bush, James Comey, provided an unqualified endorsement of massive and illegal National Security Agency (NSA) spying operations in an appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. ■ Comey, nominated by President Obama to succeed outgoing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller, testified at his confirmation hearing before a friendly bipartisan panel that likewise evinced support for the unconstitutional spying and avoided any serious questioning of his role in sanctioning torture and illegal surveillance under Bush. ■ In stating his support for the NSA spying, Comey repeated the official lies about congressional and judicial oversight and a carefully targeted surveillance effort. ■ Obama’s nomination of Comey and the bipartisan support for his confirmation underscore the seamless transition from the Bush administration and its anti-democratic policies to the Obama administration, which has continued and expanded the police state measures begun under Bush.