Ellington

The Los Angeles Times is reporting:

President Bush received a roaring ovation Tuesday for his prime-time defense of wiretapping phone calls without warrants. But Bush's explanation relied on assumptions that have been widely questioned by experts who say the president offers a debatable interpretation of history.

Defending the surveillance program as crucial in a time of war, Bush said that "previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority" that he did. "And," he added, "federal courts have approved the use of that authority."

Bush did not name names, but was apparently reiterating the argument offered earlier this month by Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, who invoked Presidents Lincoln, Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt for their use of executive authority.

However, warrantless surveillance within the United States for national security purposes was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 — long after Lincoln, Wilson and Roosevelt stopped issuing orders. That led to the 1978 passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that Bush essentially bypassed in authorizing the program after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since the surveillance law was enacted, establishing secret courts to approve surveillance, "the Supreme Court has not touched this issue in the area of national security," said William Banks, a national security expert at Syracuse Law School.

Previous Comments

ID

104468

Comment

My favorite part was the standing ovation when Bush mentioned the failed attempt to privatize Social Security... Poor thing got tripped up as I got chills and chuckled a little.

Author

kaust

Date

2006-02-01T17:39:54-06:00

ID

104469

Comment

If Bush was Pinocchio, he could take fencing lessons in France without leaving home! By the way, Dubya, it's "nuclear", not "nuculer".

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-02-07T00:13:10-06:00