Posted on 01/16/2006 3:33:02 PM PST by indcons
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Vice President Al Gore called on Monday for an independent counsel to investigate whether President George W. Bush broke the law in authorizing domestic eavesdropping without court approval.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales plans to testify in Senate hearings, expected next month, to give the administration's legal justification for the secret domestic eavesdropping operation.
"A special counsel should be immediately appointed by the attorney general to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the president," Gore said in a speech to The American Constitution Society and The Liberty Coalition.
Gore, the Democrat defeated by Bush in the 2000 presidential election, said the eavesdropping operation threatened the foundation of U.S. democracy, and he recalled the FBI's secret surveillance of Martin Luther King, on the U.S. holiday commemorating the civil rights leader.
Gore's comments also come at the start of a congressional election year in which Democrats are seeking to seize majority control from Republicans.
He accused Bush of breaking the law for not getting court approval for the National Security Agency eavesdropping operation on communications such as phone calls and e-mail coming into and going out of the United States of people suspected of terrorism ties.
"We still have much to learn about the NSA's domestic surveillance. What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and insistently," Gore said.
"A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government," he said.
The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act makes it illegal to spy on U.S. citizens in the United States without the approval of a special, secret court.
Bush has steadfastly said his actions were within the law and that he ordered the domestic eavesdropping operation to fight terrorism after the September 11 attacks.
"Al Gore's incessant need to insert himself in the headline of the day is almost as glaring as his lack of understanding of the threats facing America," Tracey Schmitt, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement.
"While the president works to protect Americans from terrorists, Democrats deliver no solutions of their own, only diatribes laden with inaccuracies and anger," she said.
Yes, poor ole slobbering Al -- like his mentor and partner in crime, he just cannot stay out of the spotlight nor can he keep his stupid mouth shut....time after time.
Pssst. Gore. We're all amused how it was okay for the Clinton administration to spy on Alrich Ames without a warrant. And how you used Echelon to spy on Americans without a warrant. All in your quest to catch, gasp, drug dealers.
He needs a special jacket.
It was just a few months ago the likes of Gore and Cindy Sheehan were complaining that Bush wasn't listening to the American people...
Republican as well as Democratic members of Congress should support the bipartisan call of the Liberty Coalition for the appointment of a special counsel to pursue the criminal issues raised by warrantless wiretapping of Americans by the President.
Second, new whistleblower protections should immediately be established for members of the Executive Branch who report evidence of wrongdoing -- especially where it involves the abuse of Executive Branch authority in the sensitive areas of national security.
Third, both Houses of Congress should hold comprehensive-and not just superficial-hearings into these serious allegations of criminal behavior on the part of the President. And, they should follow the evidence wherever it leads.
Fourth, the extensive new powers requested by the Executive Branch in its proposal to extend and enlarge the Patriot Act should, under no circumstances be granted, unless and until there are adequate and enforceable safeguards to protect the Constitution and the rights of the American people against the kinds of abuses that have so recently been revealed.
Fifth, any telecommunications company that has provided the government with access to private information concerning the communications of Americans without a proper warrant should immediately cease and desist their complicity in this apparently illegal invasion of the privacy of American citizens.
Freedom of communication is an essential prerequisite for the restoration of the health of our democracy.
It is particularly important that the freedom of the Internet be protected against either the encroachment of government or the efforts at control by large media conglomerates. The future of our democracy depends on it.
Headlines later today and tomorrow:
GORE CALLS FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL INVESTIGATION OF BUSH - Hints at Impeachment of President for Abuse of Power in Domestic Spying Scandal.
When he was in the Toon admin he didn't object to "warrantless surveillance" E-SPY HYPOCRISY
Tell Owl, sorry, there's no controlling legal authority, so there can't be any impeachment.
Carter and Clinton did this too. President Bush did not break the law.
Al Gore, please leave the stage. Your 15 minutes were up a long time ago. Piss off already, your point is partisan and not based in fact or justice. You serve the enemies of the State by levelling such a charge. You are a useful idiot.
I can just see Gore, in the wee hours of morning, spending another sleepless night sitting in an overstuffed chair with Tipper curled up at his feet, and he stares into the glowing embers of a dying fire, wishing, rueing, regretting, resenting ever having had invented that damned internet.
I'd like to see a special counsel look into why "Hell fire and brimstone" Al (See the picture in post #5) tried to steal the 2000 election from President Bush in Florida.
Ain't life grand?
Yup. Its also the reason for their term "culture of corruption".....they are trying to sway public opinions to deciding the republicans are the ones who are corrupt...so as to ease the coming pain from the Barret Report.
We still haven't gotten a special counsel to investigate Chinagate because Al Gore told Janet Reno that "there is no controlling authority."
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