Who's lighting fires now? Pat Roberts?

The New York Times reports today that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman, Pat Roberts, along with Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, both say they believe that simply sweeping the NSA Spying scandal under the carpet by retroactively approving it is not sufficient. Both say they want whatever goes on to be done under the supervision of the court. Glenn Greenwald has this to add:

[I]t is difficult to imagine that even this Congress, having caught the Administration eavesdropping in flagrant and defiant violation of their law, will simply give them legal sanction to continue to do so. Arlen Specter and Roberts have now both said they oppose such a measure.

None of this by itself portends an apocalypse for the Administration. But it is another small fire that has broken out. And if even Pat Roberts is starting fires now on this issue, it's hard to imagine more compelling evidence that this scandal is still in the growth process, not in the process of being killed off quietly. And Bush opponents should do what they can to exacerbate these tensions and add fuel to these fires.