Posted on 12/21/2005 11:35:08 PM PST by Bubbatuck
The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources.
Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.
U.S. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, head of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, expects officials from NSA and the Justice Department to explain the warrantless spying. (AP)
Politics Trivia Who was chairman of the Republican National Committee before current chairman Ken Mehlman?
Marc Racicot Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. Haley Barbour Ed Gillespie
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"The questions are obvious," said U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah. "What have you been doing, and how might it affect the reliability and credibility of the information we're getting in our court?"
Such comments underscored the continuing questions among judges about the program, which most of them learned about when it was disclosed last week by the New York Times. On Monday, one of 10 FISA judges, federal Judge James Robertson, submitted his resignation -- in protest of the president's action, according to two sources familiar with his decision. He will maintain his position on the U.S. District Court here.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Carter and Clinton did it, but you can be sure the judge won't let that be admissible
Judges have no business demanding a briefing from the executive branch or those acting on its behalf.
Judges interpret the laws and Constitution ONLY when a case is brought before them either by a prosecutor or a plaintiff.
Apparenlty these federal judges never read the Constitution.
They shouldn't be talking to anyone about it... is there any wonder why anyone would keep it secret. Put this reporter and their sources on the hearing list.
These idiots did an audit and found there were no abuses...
The sources had to be Kotelly and the other DC judge (Clinton judges), who along with the resignee (who's troubled... all of a sudden, like J. Rock), another Clinton appointee who screwed up the Hamdan case.
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