Interesting explaination by the Gonzales. link Gonzales Says Congress Authorized Spying By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Responding to a congressional uproar, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Monday that Congress had essentially given President Bush the authority for domestic surveillance after the Sept. 11 attacks. In a round of television appearances, Gonzales provided a more detailed legal rationale for Bush's decision authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails of people within the United States without seeking warrants from courts. Gonzales said he had begun meeting with members of Congress on the Bush administration's view that Congress' authorization of the use of military force after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ample authorization for the surveillance. "Our position is that the authorization to use military force which was passed by the Congress shortly after Sept. 11 constitutes that authority," Gonzales said on CBS' "Early Show." It was the most detailed legal explanation given by an administration officials since the New York Times reported Thursday that since October 2001 Bush had authorized the NSA to conduct the surveillance. Gonzales said Congress' action after Sept. 11 essentially "does give permission for the president of the United States to engage in this kind of very limited, targeted electronic surveillance against our enemy." The domestic spying revelations has created an uproar in Congress, with Democrats and Republicans calling for an investigation. "This is just an outrageous power grab," said Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis. on NBC's "Today" show. "Nobody, nobody thought when we passed a resolution to invade Afghanistan and to fight the war on terror ... that this was an authorization to allow a wiretapping against the law of the United States." Democrats and Republicans called separately Sunday for congressional investigations into the domestic spying. Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Penn., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday he intends to hold hearings. "They talk about constitutional authority," Specter said. "There are limits as to what the president can do." Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada also called for an investigation, and House Democratic leaders asked Speaker Dennis Hastert to create a bipartisan panel to do the same. Bush acknowledged in his weekly radio address Saturday that he had authorized the spying, saying it was a necessary step in the war against terror . The existence of the NSA program surfaced as Bush was fighting to save the expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act, the domestic anti-terrorism law enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks. Renewal of the law has stalled over some its most contentious provisions, including powers granted law enforcement to gain secret access to library and medical records and other personal data during investigations of suspected terrorist activity
Show me the law or statue that grants permission for the president to circumvent laws on the books and all of this will go away. Show me the law.
Exactly. Congress didn't ratify a new amendment to the constitution that removed the judicial branch or the 4th amendment. What we see here is the executive branch trying to pass the buck.
Show me how W is going to brought to justice for breaking the law. Where are the checks and balances? DoJ and Congress will not act, since acting will not serve their self interests.
1984. What has happened to the once great Republican party that took COngress by storm in 1994 to drive out the Democrats and champion the rights of the individual.
Read it and weep. The Constitution Clinton had a similar program of surveillance -- it just wasn't leaked to the New York Times when he was in office. This surveillance only occurs in cases of known ties to terror and only in international calls. The responses in this thread only prove that the kook fringe liberals are so irrelevant that it's a joke. You libs have really gone overboard.
The link you provided is evidence contrary to your claim. It mentions the 4th amendment, and spells out a system of checks and balances directly contradictory of Bush's policy. I'm not sure what wiretapping practice you are referring to from Clinton. Do you mean the one from Clinton's anti-terror crime bill that the GOP was against and defeated? The one that was later passed only AFTER 9/11. If it is used for people with known ties to terror groups, they can use that evidence to get a court ordered authorization. To not do so is in violation of our constitution.
Nowhere in the constitution does it afford the president the power to circumvent the courts and spy on American citizens. This is an act of treason and should be pursued as such. As far as Clinton is concerned, you and your kind have been whining for 5 years that Clinton did nothing in regards to combating terrorism and now you're going to quote the ECHELON project as evidence that Clinton was in fact doing the exact same thing Jr is doing? Which is it comrade? You can't have it both ways.
do you think think many of us would have a problem jailing clinton for wiretapping if he did it illegally?
Director of National Security Agency Misled Congress Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that, while under oath during his confirmation hearings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales misled the Congress about issues related to Bush’s secret domestic spying program. Gonzales said, “t is not the policy or the agenda of this president to authorize actions that would be in contravention of our criminal statutes.” In fact, Gonzales had personally authorized the warrantless domestic spying program, which did just that. http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/19/nsa-director/
If Clinton did it prosecute, if bush did it prosecute. If it's legal why was there even a court set to give specific permission to wire tap Americans?
No one is above the law, not even the head of the Executive branch. Not only should they be made examples of, there should be an emergency election held by February. If Iraq can do it, so can we. The very fabric of this nation is being disgraced by power corrupt officals, namely the GOP.
