The Daily Background

Okay, it’s time to talk about General Hayden, the man who the President nominated today to fill the role of Porter Goss as CIA director. The Executive Director of the CIA also resigned today, but Hayden is expected to appoint somebody to take his place if he is confirmed by the Senate.

First to come out against the President’s nomination of Hayden (even before he techincally announced it) was House Representative Petere Hoekstra of Michigan who is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Hoekstra called “the wrong person, the wrong place, at the wrong time” on Sunday.

Stansfield Turner (CIA director from 1977 to 1981) said of the President’s nominee:

I think Mike Hayden is extremely well qualified for the job, but there is this big question mark over the legality of the wiretapping that was done under his supervision. I happen to think it was illegal.

Hayden’s problems seem to be two-fold. Several Republican congressmen have come out against him echoing the sentiment from within the CIA: that they don’t want a military man running the top (pretty much only) civillian spy agency. People in the CIA say tensions could arise within the agency because of its leadership, in a similar way to Goss’ partisan approach to directing it.

Republican Saxby Chambliss said Hayden was going to have problems being accepted at the CIA, perhaps more than Goss (a man who was entirely unqualified for the position of Director when the President appointed him) had. Republican House Speaker Dennis Hasert has hinted that he feels the same way.

Meanwhile, Democrats are likely to come out against Hayden because he’s the man who allowed (perhaps engineered) the NSA’s unconstitutional warrentless wiretapping program to be established during his time heading up that agency. Demonstrating that sentiment, Senator Feingold recently said on Hayden:

I am concerned by reports that the President may nominate General Michael Hayden to be the Director of the CIA. General Hayden directed and subsequently defended the President’s illegal wiretapping program. Neither he nor the rest of the administration informed the congressional intelligence committees about this program, as is required by law.

Senator Kerry also has stated similar beliefs. Along those lines, Reublican Senator Specter has indicated that he will be asking Hayden some tough questions because Hayden apparently was uncooperative towards him regarding the NSA wiretapping issue.

Apparently TPM Muckraker has uncovered ties between General Hayden and MZM Inc, the company whose CEO famously bribed Republican Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham with millions of dollars in exchange for government contracts over a period of several years/

Finally, the President says he hopes the Senate will confirm Hayden “promptly.” Keep hoping on that, Mr President. Keeeeep hoping.

Filed under: Hayden, Z-TDB Blog