Slighting DiFi

This whole "We forgot to tell the incoming chair of the Senate Intelligence committee about Leon Panetta, oops" thing is crap. Diane Feinstein is pissed for a reason.

“I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director. I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read,” Feinstein said in a statement. “My position has consistently been that I believe the Agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.”

A Feinstein spokesman told CNN’s Dana Bash that the California senator found out about Obama’s pick after her staff showed her a New York Times report.

"The President-elect will now have a chance to make his arguments,” the spokesman said. “Her next move is to listen."

No, her next move is to sit the hell down and shut the hell up.

Look, I'm not a retired general or a 30-year intel community veteran, but even I can spot political chin music. Obama is dead serious about cleaning house at the CIA. This is a message fastball right at the helmet, and Feinstein and outgoing chair Jay Rockefeller were left out of the loop on this one for a specific reason. That reason is both of them bought into Bush's "Jack Bauer From 24" theory of torture as CIA operating procedure, and Obama is having none of that. He wants Gitmo gone, he wants torture stopped, he wants rendition ended, and he wants the people inside the CIA who pulled the trigger on this ripped out at the root. Moreover, he's sending a clear message that the folks who supported this kind of thing during the Bush years are totally on Barry's shit list going forward.

You don't "forget" to tell the chair of the Senate committee confirming your pick who your pick is ahead of time. You certainly don't forget to divulge critical information to the chair of the Intelligence committee. Folks, I all but guarantee you this was a caluculated insult, and the selection of Panetta combined with the selection of Dawn Johnsen at the Office of Legal Counsel is making a lot of people at Langley very uncomfortable right now. And let's not forget the reason why DiFi and Jello Jay Rockefeller are sweating Panetta. Both of them have a lot to answer for should the CIA torture regime stuff go public.

Barry's about to go collect some heads, yo. And I don't see DiFi standing in his way on this, having just gotten the chair. She can't protest too much, after all.

[UPDATE] And there you have it: DiFi is now on board with the idea of Panetta as CIA Director.

"I have been contacted by both President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden, and they have explained to me the reasons why they believe Leon Panetta is the best candidate for CIA Director," a new statement from her office read. "I look forward to speaking with Mr. Panetta about the critical issues facing the intelligence community and his plans to address them."

That was almost record speed, making me think that while Obama is going to be cleaning up the CIA, he may be more discrete about the worst of it, sparing DiFi and Jello Jay.

We'll see.