Russell Tice has become a hot commodity on Capitol Hill. Congressmen are climbing all over each other to get a chance to hear what Tice, a former employee of the National Security Agency, has to say about special access programs the agency is running which Tice says may be illegal.

Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), chairman and ranking member of the House Government Reform National Security Subcommittee, are the latest in a long line of Congressmen trying to wade through myriad bureaucratic obstacles to hear what Tice has to say.

They asked the NSA to explain any legal reason why they should not be able to interview Tice, since they say they have oversight jurisdiction. The NSA missed a June 9 deadline to respond.

Shays and Kucinich believe that the House Government Reform Committee has jurisdiction to hear from Tice. In a May 17 letter to the NSA, the lawmakers argue that they can hear from Tice because the House Intelligence Committee does not have exclusive jurisdiction over special access programs that Tice worked.

“If the SAP [special access programs] does not fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of [the House Intelligence Committee], but rather under the jurisdiction of the Armed Services Committee, the House rules provide that the Government Reform Committee may exercise oversight jurisdiction to investigate allegations of illegal activity under that government program,” the letter said. — CongressDaily

Tice will not reveal the details of the programs to the press, saying he could be prosecuted if he does so. But he has said that the programs are different from the terrorist surveillance program revealed in December, and the news reports of telephone call record collection from last month, and were conducted with the full knowledge of former director Gen. Michael Hayden, who is now head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

He did, however, meet with Senate Armed Services Committee staffers last month, who are cleared to know about special access programs, and spilled the beans on everything he knew, but says he was not told whether the staffers would follow up on his allegations.

Tice was fired from the NSA after a psychological evaluation found him to be paranoid. He disputes the allegation and underwent an evaluation by a separate psychiatrist, who found no evidence of paranoia or mental illness. Tice claimed he was retaliated against for reporting a potential spy in the Defense Department.