Bush Working to Make Domestic Spying Legal After the Fact

The Bush administration has spied on Americans. There's no doubt about that; Mr. Bush addmitted and even bragged about it. It's legal, say Mr. Bush and his advisors. So why does the administration need a bill to make domestic spying without FISA court approval legal? At least the bill may not pass.

Daily Kos: How Very Nixonian Of You, Mr. Bush:

How Very Nixonian Of You, Mr. Bush
by georgia10
Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 08:55:11 AM PDT

Do you remember that MoveOn ad, the one where Nixon's face morphs into that of President Bush?

When the domestic spying scandal broke, there was a huge focus on the President's lawyers ("he was just following their advice"), or on General Hayden ("it was his idea!") or on Vice-President Cheney ("it's just another step in Cheney's quest to restore executive power").

Well, let there be no doubt now. The President himself is leading a cover-up.

First, let's talk about recent developments with the Arlen Specter's bill. The bill, as you recall, does not require the President to submit the program for review to the FISA court. But, according to Specter, the President pinky-promised that he would seek approval of the program, so apparently, that makes everything better.

One bright spot, even if the bill passes to give the president permission for domestic spying, it seems to me that the courts could declare it unconstitutional.

More later,
Russ

Technorati tags: George W. Bush, NSA, domestic spying