Partisan Quarrel Forces Senators to Bar the Doors - New York Times

Harry Reid has BAWLS!! There is a heapin' helpin' of SPINE! This on the heels of an indictment against "Scooter" Libby. Causing him to resign from his post as aide to Vice President Cheney. Notice Libby resigned, rather than fired by Bush or Cheney. Not a good P.R. move.

I understand that this caught the Republicans and Bill Frist, off guard and forced them to agree to an oversight committee on the pre-Iraq war intellegence committee. Which previously had no oversight at all. Like most of the committees that Republicans have chaired regarding national security and ware intelligence. Ugh!

[...]
"But Democrats said last week's indictment of Mr. Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, highlighted anew the need for the Senate to examine the administration's handling of intelligence. They said the unusual demand for a closed session was made out of frustration with the refusal of the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, to make good on his February 2004 pledge to pursue such an investigation.

'We see the lengths they've gone to,' said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, referring to the disclosure of a C.I.A. officer's identity. 'And now the question is, Will this Senate meet its responsibility under the Constitution to hold this administration, as every administration should be held, accountable?'

After Mr. Reid invoked Senate Rule 21 allowing senators to request a closed session, the galleries were cleared, C-Span coverage was terminated and the chamber's doors were closed for about two hours. In the end, lawmakers agreed to name three members from each party to assess the state of the Intelligence Committee's inquiry into prewar intelligence and report back by Nov. 14."
[...]

This is what you call, stealing back the news cycle.