Wyden Gives Hayden the Business

General Michael Hayden is on The Hill today for his confirmation hearing as DCI, and our man in the Judiciary Intelligence Committee, Ron Wyden, is giving no quarter:

Wyden said Hayden had not kept Congress fully informed of the eavesdropping program and had made misleading statements in previous appearances before Congress.

"General, having evaluated your words, I now have a difficult time with your credibility," Wyden said.

"So with all due respect, general, I can't tell now if you've simply said one thing and done another, or whether you have just parsed your words like a lawyer to intentionally mislead the public," Wyden said.

Hayden responded: "Well, senator, you're going to have to make a judgment on my character ... I was as full and open as I possibly could be."

"as I possibly could be?" This sounds a bit like "I had to lie; I was told to."

If I had to guess, I'd aver that it won't ultimately make a difference, and that Hayden will be confirmed just like the dozens of other weasels who clearly are corrupted by their loyalty to the President, but who will be covered for by the compliant GOP leadership. But it's still nice to see Wyden at least get their sleaze on the record. If his office puts out a statement following the hearing, we'll update it here.