Demos seek files before Bolton vote

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats signaled Wednesday that they would try to block Republican efforts to push through a confirmation vote this week on John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations unless the Bush administration first provides classified documents that could shed light on his role in the handling of sensitive intelligence matters.

The Democrats outlined their stance as the full Senate began debate on Bolton's nomination. Unless the administration reverses course and hands over the documents, the Democratic position makes it possible that any vote on Bolton's nomination would be postponed until at least June 6, after a Memorial Day recess.

The Democrats made it clear they were not threatening a filibuster. But Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who have led the opposition to Bolton, said they would oppose an early end to the debate on the nomination, a step that would require the Republicans to muster 60 votes on Thursday if they wanted to bring the matter to a vote.

It was not clear whether there would be broad Democratic support for the move by Biden and Dodd. The two Democrats adopted the stance after leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee issued letters making public new details about Bolton's handling of classified information from the National Security Agency, one of the two main areas in which Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee have tried and failed for the past four weeks to gain access to administration documents.

The maneuvering came as senators from both parties took to the Senate floor to present their cases for and against Bolton, whose nomination has prompted intensive opposition from Democrats and at least one Republican, Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio.

Voinovich presented an impassioned case against Bolton that stood in contrast to a measured testimonial from Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, who was leading Republican efforts on Bolton's behalf.

Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, derided Bolton as a "conservative ideologue," a "lousy leader" and a man with "a reputation as a bully," whose nomination to take charge at the United Nations was "manifestly not in our national interest."

But Lugar said that the criticisms of Bolton were vastly overstated and underestimated his achievements during a career of government service. "We're exposing 20 years of Bolton's career to a microscope," Lugar said.

The information sought is related to Bolton's handling of information requested from the NSA and to his role in a 2003 dispute over intelligence assessments on Syria. American intelligence officials rejected as overstated testimony that Bolton sought to deliver to Congress about Syria's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs.

The State Department has refused to share the information, saying that to disclose documents showing the internal debate could have a chilling effect on future discussions.

The only information provided to Congress about Bolton's handling of the NSA intelligence came in a briefing two weeks ago by Gen. Michael V. Hayden of the Air Force, the new principal deputy director of national intelligence, to Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the panel.

If the administration refuses to provide more information by Thursday evening, and if Biden and Dodd stand their ground, Republicans, who have 55 seats in the Senate, would need votes from at least five Democrats to push through a vote on Bolton this week. If the Democrats can muster 41 votes to keep the debate alive, a vote would be postponed until early June, after the Senate returns from the holiday recess.

In their letters on Wednesday, Roberts and Rockefeller provided the first concrete information about Bolton's handling of highly classified information provided to him by the NSA, in response to his requests. Both said there was evidence that Bolton had shared information with a subordinate at the State Department about a highly classified February 2003 report in which the subordinate was named.

Roberts sought to minimize the significance of the episode, saying that it appeared that Bolton had not known that the NSA had requested that the information not be shared with others. But Rockefeller said that it demanded further exploration.

The episode is one of 10 in which Bolton had previously acknowledged using his authority as undersecretary of state to obtain from the NSA information about the identities of Americans mentioned in intercepted communications.

Under normal procedures, the names of such Americans are deleted from intelligence reports prepared by the NSA to protect the Americans' privacy and can be released only upon request and after a high-level review. The names are regarded as so sensitive that Hayden refused to share them with Roberts and Rockefeller.

In describing a two-week review, both Roberts and Rockefeller said they had been persuaded that there was nothing inappropriate in Bolton's decisions to request the information. But Rockefeller raised questions not only about Bolton's decision to share it, but also about whether he had been candid in telling the NSA that he needed the names to better understand the report from which they were deleted.

In the case of the February 2003 report, Rockefeller disclosed, Bolton had "used the information he was provided" by the NSA "to seek out the State Department official mentioned in the report to congratulate him." Rockefeller said the episode "demands further attention" because it raised questions about Bolton's conduct.

Neither senator identified the State Department official involved, but Roberts said in his letter that he worked for Bolton and had been cleared to handle classified intelligence information.

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