the argument that dick cheney would make is we are getting hit begin not because we did not tortured because we are being too soft on these terrorists. >> right, and that is the argument they are trying to make, and i think it is not fair because the reason we were attacked in the first place had nothing to do with being soft on people. it was because there was an intelligence failure. the fbi and cia stop talking to each other and dropped the ball. if you talk to experts, they will say this issue of supposedly being tough, using tough methods just hurt more than a help. you get that information, you start to hurt the reputation of america around the world, you make our enemies angry to the point that they are radicalized against us, and this is what all the military leaders have said, is what the fbi says. really, the only people who are still fighting for to be able to use torture or the people who use them before, people like dick cheney. i have to wonder if he is fighting for america where he is fighting for his own reputation. tavis: both probably? >> i think so. tavis: how are

it was dick cheney who told scooter libby that valerie plame worked for the counter proliferation -- >> that's what -- >> that's not a new fact, that cheney was the one who told scooter libby where she worked an recallier scooter libby had been rounding up information about valerie wilson. then when the investigators come along a couple months later, he says, i heard it from tim s russert. and why he was convicted, he said he completely forgot that dick cheney ever talked to him about this and then when he heard it from tim russert, it was like he was learning it for the first time. a jury listened to him say that. they said that's baloney. that's why he was convicted. >> let's talk about where this ends. the president said no to him. >> three times. >> the president said no. do you have a sense from your reporting that the president believed that scooter libby and the vice president were in cahoots on trying to out valerie wilson as a cia agent as part of the effort to cover up basically the whole question of why we went to war with iraq? >> there's some evidence in the grand jury te

love dick cheney. whether or not president bush or a bush loyalist returns fire and turns this exchange of fire into a full-blown political war remains to be seen, but it is now quite clear that dick cheney's role in our politics now, the mission of the most prominent republican in the country is to defend, for lack of a better construct, the cheney legacy. the legacy he's defended against democrats, republicans, and the other president in the cheney administration. take the issue of guantanamo, for example. this is president bush's take on guantanamo in june of 2006. >> i'd like to close guantanamo. no question guantanamo sends a signal to some of our friends, provides an excuse, for example, to say the united states is not upholding the values that it encourages other countries to adhere to. >> i'd like to close guantanamo. vice president cheney was in favor of keeping it open. june, 2005. should guantanamo bay's detention center be shut down and the detainees moved elsewhere? mr. cheney, no. because

, that's dick cheney campaigning against george w. bush. the same thing goes for the issue of torture. despite mr. cheney's insistence that enhanced interrogation techniques kept us safe for eight years, the program was called off halfway through the bush administration. according to a "new york times" examination of the program, the consensus of top administration officials about the cia interrogation program, which they had approved without debate or dissent in 2002 began to fall apart the next year. cia officials began to curb its practices much earlier than most americans know. no one was water boarded after march of 2003 and coercive interrogation methods were shelved all together in 2005. the program ceased to exist in 2005. cheney lost the battle to keep it going years ago. and, yet, after leaving office, he's railing against the decisi decision not just of the obama administration, but of his own administration. >> i think to the extent that those policies were responsible for saving lives that the administration is now trying

it is being alleged dick cheney actually informed the c.i.a. not to inform congress about the secret counterterrorism program. we do not know what this program was. we do though in: it did not have to do with enhanced interrogation, it did not have to do with the wiretapping, the domestic -- the pelosi stuff which was back and forth also. >> it is not those particular issues. >> the c.i.a..or at the time said the reason he didn't inform congress it had not developed to the point he says they believed it merited a congressional briefing. >> that's a key point. this program never did develop and that's a good point. >> michael hayden went on to say one of the points that i had in every one of the briefings was to make sure they understood the scope of our activity, referring to congress. they've got to this this is bigger than a bread box i've said. addressing this one of the officials who worked closely with michael hayden. hayden hasn't responded in this particular story but one of the officials close to michael hayden said he has never held an

i mean, dick cheney says you don't leave someone on the team, but scooter libby took a bullet for dickheney. >> why? >> i think there were two reasons. i think the overarching reason is he just didn't want to admit that dick cheney and he were trying to dig up whatever they could find on joe wilson and it led to his wife to discredit joe -- >> this is going to help that movie a lot, your story, because if this opens up the whole wound again about scooter libby and we're reminded of this horrible story, how we get talked into the war with phony wmd, how they get upset by the fact that the cia was blaming them for the phony wmd, so they start blaming the cia, including valerie wilson of the cia. >> there's a question of possible legal liability. leaking valerie wilson's name was a possible federal offense. scooter libby had to worry about his role in that and had to worry about what dick cheney's role in that was, too. wasn't just covering up a political act. it was covering up a possible crime. so he took one not for the team. he took one for his leader, being cheney, not bush, and i th

it is not surprising to me about dick cheney. you have this guy steve about two months back reporting that the cia was carrying out the death squad overseas. this is not a surprise. many people call and want to hear what they want to hear. i have international news at my house. you can see on different programs, a lot of things that americans would not believe. that is what i have to say. have a nice day. host: we appreciate your column. we'll take a short time out and then spend the next hour on the supreme court nomination. we will hear from either sides of the nomination with our guest. plus, more of your calls. ♪ >> on sunday, on president harry truman and his position to recognize the state of israel. >> no one knew until may 14 what truman would do at the press conference. but he had already decided and told only height and staff, said that he was going to support the jewish state at its creation. that is sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. you can also listen on cspan radio and by satellite radio and online to the broadcast. >> l

for eight year, dick cheney and his lawless lawyers battered our constitution and checks and balances. those sound like process words but it's the core of our system. it's not democratic or republican. the bush/cheney administration violated so many laws that it is the tip of the iceberg. we need in my view a 9/12 commission to go back and look at the systemic use of torture, to look at the warrantless wiretapping which a recent inspector general's report pointed out was ineffective. if we're going to fix our system and ensure that the american people get some oversight by a congress that needs to reassert itself, yeah, i think the american people are on board. but it can't be perceived as politics. and it isn't. it's about restoring our democratic system, which if falling apart is going to make us less safe. >> what do you make of the comments the democrats are doing this because they want to give political cover to nancy pelosi? i guess my response to that, and i want yours obviously, what would motivate leon panetta to tell the house and senate intel committees, by the way there we

then the new cia director told congress dick cheney ordered the cia to lie. leaving daughter liz cheney today to argue that that's not true. in other words, the cia is lying. well played, madame. miss cheney filibustering on msnbc today, claiming there is no evidence her father told the cia to keep congress in the dark. the word of the cia, of course, not evidence to her. >> was there any attempt by your father, in any way, to keep the cia from telling congress information they should have heard? >> well, i think you have to look, for example, at what general hayden said yesterday. general hayden, the former director of the cia came out publicly on the record and said he was under absolutely to restraint from briefing congress and that he had a series of triggers about when congress needed to be briefed and that those triggers were not met with this particular program. i think it does a disservice to former directors of the cia to politicize this issue and i think it does a disservice to the bush administration, frankly. we kept the nation safe for eight years

the party that was in power when dick cheney was the vice president says why look back? >> if as the "new york times" says we have the vice president of the united states telling people to break the law, that's a pretty serious matter. either he did or he didn't. if he did, that's something we ought to know. >> we all know that bad things were done. we all know that the operatives who did it most likely were under orders to do so. for us to continue this and harm our image throughout the world, i agree with the president of the united states. it's time to move forward and not go back. >> you don't know at this point how much leverage this story's going to get in the coming days. but let's join two people now who certainly would follow a story of this magnitude. candy crowley is with us once again and david gergen is good enough to join us. my thanks to both of you for being with us. you know, it's ironic and interesting that it seems to be, candy, that this could very well be a continuation of a story that began not too long ago when house speaker nancy pelosi told our o

as you recall libby was dick cheney's right hand. and the investigation about who first revealed that valerie plame was a c.i.a. undercover agent. a c.i.a. found that libby on tructed justice and lied under oath. president bush repeatedly dodged a question about his pardon. >> i felt the punishment was severe. so i made a decision that would commute his punishment. a serious fine and probation. as to the future, i rule nothing in and nothing out. chris: so why did bush refuse to go further and issue a pardon? time magazine had a advisor, i'm sure president bush felt there was a coverup. >> bush felt scooter libby bunt remorseful. that was important to bush. bush did an own investigating. he did an own investigating. decided that he lied to the grand jury. he felt that was completely unacceptable. and they laid that on there on purpose. and finally as this source suggested, i think there was some concern that perhaps whatever they question they would probe, they really weren't sure if they were protecting each other. chris: they were

i agree with dick cheney.t is like waving a red blanket in front of a bull and the democrats come charging out. it is amazing how much all these democrats on capitol hill would like to see dick cheney in jail eating off a tin taye. i mean -- eating off a tin tray. it is amazing they feel strongly about that. they're wrong and i think they are hurting themselves not him. >> if they find bin laden, you cannot use a predator. you want a means of capturing or killing him. this would have been the way to do it. bret: that's it for the panel. stay tuned for what was the most emotional moment of the confirmation hearings this week. . millions of men 45 and older... just don't feel like they used to. are you one of them? remember when you had more energy... for 18 holes with your buddies? more passion for the one you love? more fun with your family and friends? could be an easily treatable condition called low t. c'mon, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. so don't blame it on aging. go to isitlowt.c

will dick cheney ever face prosecution? here's what you said. 63% said yes, 37% of our viewers tonight text in no. >>> that's "the ed show." i'm ed shuts. for more information on "the ed show" go to ed.msnbc.com, or check out wegoted.com. we're going to be in madison, wisconsin, 7:00 to 9:00. we'll be in portland, oregon, july 31st for another town hall. more on our website at wegoted.com. "hardball" starts next on msnbc. >>> race. guns. abortion. capital punishment. anger management. al qaeda. the whole shebang. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, let's find something to fight about. nothing that sonia sotomayor has said has received more attention than her now famous wise latina woman comment that said that she could render a better judgment than someone else. she started today by saying this to the committee chairman. >> i want to state up front unequivocally and without doubt, i do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gender group has an advantage in sound j

. >>> just when you thought dick cheney couldn't shock you anymore, we learned that he pushed george w. bush to illegally order u.s. troops to enter a u.s. city to arrest half a dozen terror suspects. forget the constitution. dick's justification? what else? johnny yu told me i could. >>> finally tonight the rise and fall of an alaskan maverick. >> every day was just a blast. >> a look back at one of the more bizarre political careers in american history. all that and more now on "countdown." >> only dead fish go with the flow. >>> good evening from new york. i'm lawrence o'donnell. keith olbermann has the night off. this time last year there was speculation that senator john mccain might be on the verge of announcing that he had selected a popular republican governor as his running mate. no, not that republican governor. the governor in question was actually tim pawlenty of minnesota. instead, in our fifth story on the "countdown" senator mccain was actually weeks away from even starting to vet the woman who would join his ticket at the last minute, the once obscure sarah palin, no l

that, apparently, is not enough for dick cheney. mr. cheney wanted and continues to want a full pardon. "time" magazine published a new cover story about bush and cheney's fight over this issue. it's a story that clearly and from my perspective almost astonishingly obviously told from the perspective of

. >>> former vice president dick cheney accused of ordering the cia to conceal a secret intelligence program from congress. >>> and arrests in the slaying of a florida couple known for adopting disabled children. two men are held on murder charges. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle guillen. republicans criticize her judicial philosophy. democrats say she's a meticulous judge who strictly follows the law. this morning president obama's supreme court nominee judge sonia soeotosotomayor faces cris confirmation hearings again. >> reporter: michelle, good morning to you. if republicans mount a vigorous defense, they could unify their base, but they also risk a backlash from hispanics and women's groups who are anxious to see her become the first latina female justice. judge sonia sotomayor gets her chance today to convince senators and a national tv audience that she's ready to serve on the supreme court. >> for someone like sonia sotomayor, the only thing standing between her and confirmation is herself. >> reporter: the 55-year-old new yorker

cia withheld information about a secret counterism on the direct orders from then vice president dick cheney. leon panetta has informed lawmakers about chaina's role and has stopped the program. efforts to contact cheney for reaction have been unsuccessful. at least so far. confirmation hearings for the supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor kick off tomorrow morning in washington. they will push back against republican opponents who paint her as an activist judge. if confirmed, she would be the first lutina on the high court. right here our special coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow morning. all of that and more coming up on "state of the union." >>> you're looking at live pictures of the u.s. capital, a beautiful sunday here in the nation's capital. tomorrow the hearings will begin and the confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor. history will unfold. welcome back to "state of the union." let's talk about that and more with our senior analyst jeff toobin and senior political correspondent candy crowley. they'll all be here with me tomorrow getting ready to assess what's going o

did dick cheney break the law by keeping a cia plan secret from congress? the name is pronounced cheeney. we'll talk about whether should be an investigation into his actions. i'd like to see the use of the subpoena power by the congress. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. you have questions. who can give you the financial advice you need? where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of the most powerful names in the industry. introducing morgan stanley smith barney. here to rethink wealth management. here to answer... your questions. morgan stanley smith barney. a new wealth management firm with over 130 years of experience. >> what lessons can president obama learn from jimmy carter's malaise speech which he gave 30 years ago tonight? "hardball" returns after this. women who drink crystal light drink 20% more water. crystal light. make a delicious change. has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who'

you got to remember as we do, dick cheney ran the transition.ey was the guy who was saying to the president-elect, here is who i think you want to consider for cia, here's who i think you might want to consider for defense. so tenet owed his job to clearing cheney's transition filter. and allowing him to stay in it. having been appointed by a democratic president. you know how that works when they keep them in-house like that. i think tenet got compromised at a character level and was owing more to cheney than he should have been. >> let me ask you, michael, where is he? nobody seems to be able to get a hold of cheney. liz, his daughter -- >> cheney? it's very odd that this week after all the speaking out he was doing weeks ago and months ago defending himself, defending bush administration policies, he's been completely silent. >> where does he hide? >> at an undisclosed location. >> it's not funny at some point. the man is -- well, he's impenetrable. i think history will decide some big things about this guy. as well as scooter. who, by the wa

accusations congress was kept in the dark by dick cheney about a planned counter terror operation. >>> closing in on the killers of a prominent florida couple. the parents of 16 children. tonight, an arrest. >>> forced to dit. an extraordinary landing on the hudson wasn't the first. why some go so wrong, and an inside look at what it takes to bring one down. >> that's t you're in the water. >>> and wind at his back. a young sailors race against the elements and into the record a young sailors race against the elements and into the record books. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. members of congress are reacting tonight to news that for years they were completely shut out of a top secret cia counter terrorism program. apparently because the vice president at the time, dick cheney, didn't want them to know about it. and that revelation is opening old sores about cia secrets and questions about what else congress may not have been told about. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house tonight with more. mike, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. ci

that handwriting raised some questions about whether dick cheney told the cia not to brief congress. have spoken to some heads of cia that said according to the 1947 law that oversees the intelligence agency, they are only supposed to brief congress when there is significant intelligence activity. it was a judgment call at the time as to whether it was necessary. this administration and this cia director decided to brief congress, but previous ones decided not to. shepard: former vice president cheney has been speaking up a lot of late. has he said anything about this? >> he has not, but we had his daughter on yesterday, and she defended her father, said he had done nothing wrong. she would not directly talk about these classified briefings or this classified program, but she definitely was out there defending her father. you have seen dick cheney out on this because the democratic head of the house intelligence agency still has not -- house intelligence committee still has not decided whether to go forward on this. i think a lot of former directors of the cia as well as dick cheney

also, a plan pushed by dick cheney, allegedly, would have affected al qaeda operatives. the secret proposal just coming to light. >> his mom and dad got shot. >> three suspects are under parents of six -- 16 children. we will have thelatest on all those stories on this monday a >> the fairfax county board of supervisors will hold a hearing tonight on a proposal from the islamic saudi academy to expand its campus. the school wants to add 200 students to the campus. if the county planning commission approved the expansion last week. some critics contend the school promotes intolerance. the county supervisors will have the final say. the cia, for obvious reasons, works under a cloak of secrecy, but ther's sort of a secret plan to target is causing an uproar among some lawmakers. lyns davis has more on the controversy and dick cheney's alleged role in all of it. >> the cia is known for conducting covert operations, but one secret may be the basis of a congressional investigation. >> to have a massive program concealed from leaders in congress is not only inappropriate, it co

they would love to put dick cheney in jail. they will settle for blowing up the american intelligence committee. >> let me try to disagree. i doubt it was that organized. i do think a lot of people,. a lot of people have been saying presidents have been have done this before. and we were trying to kill fidel by blowing up cigars. panetaf finds out about it, he briefed congress. i'm not sure i buy this scenario that it's all about nancy pelosi. cheney pushed the c.i.a. and its proven. >> paneta did not do anything devious. he heard about it. it was the democrats that leaked that to one, take attention away from pelosi around also eric helder can move forward prosecution about bush era crimes. so the press write about these the tortured eric holder, on the other hand, president obama wants to look forward and not backward. so it's the opportunity to look both ways. we're going to have an investigation, mark my word. >>> judy is shaking her head. let me read a quote about how leaks happen when it comes to national security. here i

dick cheney could not be reached for comment. >>> the white house may not be behind the move, but attorney general eric holder apparently may push forward with a criminal investigation into the bush administration's interrogations of terror suspects. the justice department official tells the associated press, holder is considering whether to appoint a prosecutor. president obama has expressed reluctance about such a probe saying the nation should look forward, not back ward. the white house is concerned an investigation could distract from other priorities such as health care reform. >>> president obama and the first family arrived back at the white house early this morning. their whirlwind trips included stops in italy and russia and was capped off by a visit to ghana where the president addressed the country's parliament. in his speech, he praised ghana for the democracy and economic progress. he also challenged people on the african continent to hold their leaders responsible for ending corruption and conflict. the trip to ghana marked his first visit to africa since being sworn in. >>>

they mislead us all the time. >> reporter: if vice president dick cheney did say to the c.i.a. "don't tell congress," is that against the law? >> it's probably skirting the law. the question is, what do you do with that? i don't think there's going to be any will on congress to prosecute him. >> reporter: potentially more serious is a criminal probe being considered by the attorney general who says he'll decide soon whether to investigate the bush administration's harsh interrogation tactics. katie? >> couric: nancy cordes reporting from the capitol tonight. now turning to the war on terror in afghanistan. the taliban has launched a new offensive to destabilize the country and intimidate voters before the upcoming august elections. after the taliban captured one small town in eastern afghanistan, u.s. and afghan forces engaged them in a dramatic fire fight to take it back. cbs news has an exclusive look at the operation as mandy clark reports from the front line. ( gunshots ) >> reporter: this is the battle for barge matal. it started at dusk yesterday. insurgents high on ridge

he wants to talk about dick cheney, cia and i would guess cheney 2.0, aka daughter liz cheney.is adam smith of washington. congressman smith, good to have you with us. are you a leaker? do you leak information? do your colleagues leak information? >> two things about that. several actually. first of all, it's the law that the executive branch and the cia inform congress about its activities. so it has to be followed regardless of from what flows from it. second, the overwhelming majority of leaks on cia programs come out on the executive branch. yes, there's always the danger when you share information, but the law requires that information to be shared with congress. i will agree that congress and the executive branch need to do a better job. i didn't want this letter leaked. we sent a private letter to director panetta on this issue and it was leaked afterwards. i do think that was a mistake. it should not have been leak bud that's not an excuse for not following the law. >> can you tell our audience tonight it was no member of congress that leaked that letter? >> i wish i co

they allege former vice president dick cheney ordered the cia to hide a counterterrorism program from congress. >> to have a massive program that is concealed from the leaders in congress is not only inappropriate, it could be illegal. >> reporter: published reports say the secret plan never became operational. little is known about what it would do. but when current cia director leon panetta learned of it last month he ended the program then he told congress about the plan he said mr. cheney wanted kept secret. >> he was told that the vice president had ordered that the program not be briefed to the congress. >> what do you -- >> i think this is a problem, obviously. >> reporter: attorney general eric holder is already considering a criminal investigation into how the cia treated terror suspects. republicans warn investigations could stifle critical intelligence gathering. >> i hope that we don't feel the attorney general doesn't feel a need to go back into it. we'll see. he's the attorney general, but i hope he doesn't feel that need to do so. >> reporter: former vice president dick

well, dick cheney could not be reached for comment about this. >>> a tornado slammed a town in southern ohio, hurting at least five people there. emergency officials say the twister hit some folks hard yesterday afternoon. check out the damage here. some homes completely destroyed. at least three mobile homes wiped out. utility crews are now working to fix power outages in the area. some roads are closed because of debris and high water. the red cross had an emergency shelter in the area to help out. >>> so, who will be hit today? and who will suffer under extreme summer heat? the national forest with karen mcginness, just moments away. >>> some news on a story we brought you yesterday. police are questioning two men in killing a couple who adopted special needs kids. a sheriff says the couple was found dead in their home in florida on thursday. investigators later found the two men by tracking down this red van, leaving the victims' home. those men are not under arrest. they are considered persons of interest. investigators also want to speak to a third man who hasn't been located yet.

clearly, it's something that we're learning more and more that dick cheney had a really hands-on role in crafting policy and in urging the cia not to share some plans with congress or at least to keep in a very close circle the number of people who are aware -- were aware of some of the plans of the bush administration in intelligence. >> if all of this is true, how unprecedented or incredible is it that the vice president of the country would have this kind of authorization over the cia? mind you, we've been talking about this now for a week and not once have we said president bush factoring into this conversation. >> it is surprising. of course, the director of the cia serves at the pleasure of the president, not the vice president, but as we knew during the bush administration, dick cheney was a very hands-on vice president, especially in intelligence, foreign policy, military affairs. we're learning it's even more the case than we suspected since dick cheney and george bush has left office. the inspector general of the cia released a report recently that said that dick cheney urge

but if the former vice president, dick cheney, i want to pin you down on this, if he did tell the cia don't share this information with the house and the senate, if he did say that, would he have been wrong? >> yes, if that information was correctly -- it should have been shared. i don't know what the information was, you don't know what it was, and there are instances, i presume, where something is so sensitive that it can't be released. but it's a very practical matter if it should have been shared, it should have been shared. >> i looked back at the legislation, at the law, of the 1947 law, senator stabenow, and it does leave a loophole there for the executive branch of the u.s. government not to share certain intelligence information with the legislative branch of the u.s. government. it says that the congressional intelligence committee should be fully and currently informed of all intelligence activities, but it does say this. to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence, sou

lawmakers are demanding an investigation. >> reporter: members of congress are reacting to reports that dick cheney kept congress in the dark for eight years about a c..a. counter terrorist program. dick durbin said if he did hide the program, it may have been a crime. and here is what dianne feinstein tells fox. >> i think if the intelligence committees could have been briefed, they could have watched for the program and asked for regular program and made judgments about the program if it went along. that was not the case because we were kept in the dark. >> reporter: c.i.a. director leon pen eta found out about the program on june 23rd and killed it on june 24th and kill informed cong -- informed congress that day. some c.i.a. say it never got to the fully operational stage. so there wasn't a need to tell congress. part of the worry seems to be the more people who know about it, the bigger chance of a leak. some republicans point to the timing of the report. >> this comes to a statement unproven of speaking pelosi that the c.i.a. had lied to her about interrogation techniques and this looks like

and now unfolding, what dick cheney told to the members.he former cia director, one of the points, to make sure that congress understood the scope of the activity and bigger than a bred box. he was addressing things other than nancy pelosi and we understand from an official who worked to michael haden, another said dick cheney never said to us, don't tell anything, don't restrict anything. >> the directors say they did not hold a congressional hearing because this was not yet developed, if it had been developed then that's when they would have-- >> the program itself and perhaps, the problem to dave's point we still don't know which program this is. >> a couple of things, canceled the program june 23rd. wrong this gets nancy pelosi off the hook, it has nothing to do with water boarding. we still don't know if she was accurate accurately informed about water boarding. she may have been told about water boarding. >> to be fair-- >> in the briefings. >> we frankly don't know. we simply don't know anything about what program this is that the vi

did dick cheney break the law by keeping a cia plan secret from congress? the name is pronounced cheeney. just ask him. we'll talk about whether should be an investigation into his actions. i'd like to see the use of the subpoena power by the congress. let's see if they'll use it. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. >> what lessons can president obama learn from jimmy carter's malaise speech which he gave 30 years ago tonight? "hardball" returns after this. since we first showed up with our pirate hats on! if you're not into fake sword fights pointy slippers and green wool tights take a tip from a knight who knows free credit report dot com, let's go! vo: offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage. a tornado hits, air life denver takes off... their night-vision goggles keeping the rescue mission safe... and powering those goggles-- the only battery air life trusts: duracell. trusted everywhere. >>> welcome back to "hardball." did former vice president dick cheney have the legal authority to keep congress in the dark about a cia plot to use comm

. >> dick cheney is the only one who hasn't vying for access and influence and credibilit credib theole that almost by definition is held up to some ridicule. i think he's doing fine and i think it's real they make fun of him and condescend to him. i've heard it myself. >> charlie: they do? >> yeah, they do. but it doesn't mean they don't give him serious works. >> charlie: gaffs? >> neediness. >> charlie: neediness? >> all vice presidents have to vie for time. >> charlie: that's a new term. who are the emerging stars in the obama administration? >> in the administration -- i think it's true of many white houses but the place to watch is the white house the circle around the president and i think in foreign policy there's a small circle of people who's names you haven't necessarily heard, tom donnalin and jeff mcdonough and i think it's true of a lot of administration has it policies are being made in the white house and people at the agencies and secretary clinton have to work hard to get to be heard. >> charlie: what about geithner. >> he's certainly survived and recovered which is

the front story in "theew york times," that forme vice president dick cheney ke congress the dark. his orders -- >> rerter: mr. cheney hasn't respded to the accusaon, but fellow republicans sa they're not jumng to anyconclusions. >> first of all, i would like to know the facts of the case before there shou be "an investigation. how long did the director of the cianow about ts program and when did he terminate it? and all o these things are going to - are probably ging be heavily discussed the weeks ahe. >> reporter:ut whatay never discussed, at least not pulicly, is the exact nature of this secret program. the soces coming clea about the operation's existence refusing t soft mystery. simply saying, it has nothing with the flash pots of redition and interrogation. >> sally gouldfrom itn. the "the wall seet journal" to plan to killor capture al qaeda operatives. >>> a south korean tv news channel reported today tt the leader of northkorea, kim jong-il, has pancatic cancer this follows an aparance by kim last week. he was loing thin and walkg with a slightmp. today'seport by ytn telev

appreciate it. >>> the new weird battle royale between george bush and dick cheney over who gets the icky legacy rages on. after taking the fight to his former boss in the early round cheney is knocked back on his heels with reports that bush was protecting america from cheney the whole time. got that? bush protected us from his own administration. that's the argument they're asking us to swallow. a pulitzer prize winning author will join us next. announcer: welcome to the now network. currently, thousands of people are enjoying the new palm pre from sprint. its revolutionary web os allows multiple applications to run at the same time. - ( thunder and rain ) - millions are using the simply everything plan. - each is saving $1200 over an at&t iphone plan. - ( cash register dings ) together that's billions of dollars. enough to open a dunkin' donuts in space. from america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. get the palm pre. only from sprint. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.spri