Senate Dems Force Showdown On Iraq

Close Senate Session To Press For Report On Misuse Of Intelligence

(CBS/AP) 
"Frist keeps talking about trying to change the rules to eliminate the filibuster. He calls that the nuclear option," adds CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer . "What the Democrats did is a little preemptive nuclear strike yesterday saying, 'OK, buddy, you try to do this, let us show what we can do here, we can shut this whole place down.'"

"Welcome to the 2006 mid-term elections," University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato told CBS Radio News. "They have begun in earnest with one year to go before the election."

When Reid made his move at mid-afternoon, the public was ordered out of the chamber, the lights were dimmed, and the doors were closed.

Under Senate rules, no vote is required when a member demands a secret session.

Some Democrats have accused the White House of twisting intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq.

"The Democrats clearly saw an opening with the indictment of 'Scooter' Libby. Blood is in the water and they moved in," says Schieffer.

Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted last Friday for lying during an investigation that touched on the war — the leak of the identity of a CIA official married to a critic of the administration's Iraq policy.

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said.

Libby resigned from his White House post after being indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury.

Democrats contend that the unmasking of CIA officer Valerie Plame was retribution for her husband, Joseph Wilson's publicly challenging the Bush administration's contention that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium from Africa. That claim was part of the White House's justification for going to war.

As Reid spoke, Frist met in the back of the chamber with a half-dozen senior GOP senators, including Roberts. Reid claimed that Republicans have repeatedly rebuffed Democratic pleas for a thorough investigation.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., a former majority leader, said a closed session was appropriate for overarching matters like impeachment and chemical weapons — the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions. Moreover, he said Reid's move violated the Senate's tradition of courtesy and consent.

But there was nothing available in the Senate rules Republicans could use to thwart Reid's maneuver. The Senate is authorized to have secret sessions by the Constitution.

But it was the first time in more than two decades the chamber has been forced into a closed session without bipartisan agreement. The last closed session was in 1999 to consider the impeachment of President Clinton.

The Senate had been considering a budget bill when it went into closed session.