US Senate goes into closed session:
AMERICAblog: CNN just said that by invoking Rule 21, Reid just shut down the Senate, all 100 Senators are called to the Senate floor, they have to turn over their cell phones, blackberries, etc
Talking Points Memo: I’m told Sen. Reid has taken the senate into closed session to discuss the senate’s failure to “phase two” of the Senate Select Committee on Inteligence report on the Iraqi WMD intelligence failure. Phase two, you’ll remember, was to examine alleged administration manipulation of intelligence.
Quick review on the Phase II report: The Report They Forgot
In February 2004, the Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSCI) announced that it had unanimously agreed to expand its investigation of prewar Iraq intelligence from focus on intelligence community blunders and into the more controversial area of “whether intelligence was exaggerated or misused” by U.S. government officials. The committee’s ranking Democrat, Jay Rockefeller, struck the agreement with Chairman Pat Roberts — provided, Roberts insisted, that the probe into policy-makers’ activities wait until after the presidential election.UPDATE – Daily Kos: As the post below notes, Reid asked the Senate to go into special session on intelligence — that is, a closed session — to discuss prewar intelligence. This mostion, along with a second (provided by Durbin), requires all Senators to report to the Senate floor. It is a non-debatable motion.[…]
Now, this is more than a temporary stunt. The Democratic leadership has promised to call a special session in the Senate every single day until Republicans alllow for a real investigation.