Dems Want to Investigate Cheney for CIA Program That Was Never Instituted

Yes, the story is as silly as that headline:

Some Democratic senators are calling for an investigation after learning Congress wasn't briefed about an covert CIA counterterrorism program allegedly ordered to be kept secret by former Vice President Dick Cheney.

CIA Director Leon Panetta briefed Congress about the still classified program on June 24, a day after learning about it and immediately canceling it. Intelligence sources noted that the program never got off the ground and wasn't instituted.

Nonetheless, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told "FOX News Sunday" that Congress should have been informed about the eight-year program sooner so that it could have oversight of the spy agency's actions.

"This is a big problem, because the law is very clear," Feinstein said. "And I understand the need of the day, which was when America was in shock, when we had been hit in a way we'd never contemplated, where we had massive loss of life, where there was a major effort to be able to respond.

"I think you weaken your case when you go outside of the law. And I think that if the Intelligence Committees had been briefed, they could have watched the program. They could have asked for regular reports on the program. They could have made judgments about the program as it went along. That was not the case because we were kept in the dark. That's something that should never, ever happen again," Feinstein added.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, called the failure to inform Congress "illegal."

Let me repeat the only salient part of this story:

Intelligence sources noted that the program never got off the ground and wasn't instituted.

So, Leon Panetta found out about a CIA program that was never instituted...and immediately cancelled it. Profiles in courage.

He then ran to Congress to tell them about the program that was never instituted and the Dems now think that not telling Congress about a program that was never instituted is a crime. Again, profiles in courage.

The desperation on the part of Dems to criminalize policy decisions knows no bounds.