last night on 'the o'reilly factor,' former republican senator slade gorton did my job for me. below, you'll find a portion of his exchange w/ bill o'reilly.

O'REILLY: But, what I know to be true is that there was a tremendous amount of confusion, from 1995 onward after this crazy act that Janet Reno for some reason in her office made everybody aware of, that Intelligence sources overseas were not to brief criminal investigators like the FBI. —We know they have an intelligence arm, the criminal investigators. —If they got something, it was a violation of people's rights.

GORTON: No.

O'REILLY: Now you know that as well as I do.

GORTON: No, you have slightly misstated it, but the misstatement is a very important one.

They were not to go to U.S. attorneys who were prosecuting cases. There was no limitation on any intelligence agency sharing anything with any other intelligence agency at all. And so if...

O'REILLY: So you think that subtlety was known by all of the investigators?

GORTON: Subtlety? It isn't a remote subtlety.

O'REILLY: I think it was a culture established by Attorney General Reno.

GORTON: No.

O'REILLY: ...that don't get involved.

GORTON: No.

O'REILLY: The overseas people doesn't get involved.

GORTON: There was a policy established by Congress and by judges that you couldn't use intelligence information gotten through one kind of -- you know, of subpoena or wiretap in criminal prosecutions. It had nothing to do with sharing among agencies. And as you've rightly said, when it was finally taken down, you know, not by Ashcroft who just -- who went along completely with what Jamie Gorelick said, but by The Patriot Act.

look again at the non-italicized sections. this is exactly the problem w/ the "new" media, whether it's liberal or conservative: the small lie; playing fast & loose w/ the facts; no accountability.

the video is available here, and highly worth watching.