Sessions: Entering a record from someone who served with Clinton and Bush administrations who defends the acts of the surveillance program.
Also welcomes Debra Burlingame here; she's been here all day and her brother died on 9/11 and she reminds us of the human cost because of the failure of will and we have a responsibility to defend this country. It's not an academic matter.
But it's beyond academics and we've lost a lot of people who have NO civil rights today.
Thank you, Mrs. Burlingame for being with us today.
They should let Ms. Burlingame question the Dems on the committee.....have seen her on a few shows and she is SHARP!!
Sessions: The Deputy AG for the Clinton administration (Gorelick) testified before Congress for a warrantless search in the Alrich Ames case.
She said the administration has inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches.
It was in 1994 or '95 and before Congress changed the statute.
But that's irrelevant because it was she claimed it was the inherent authority of the president.
In addition, Judge Griffin Bell, a federal judge and AG under Carter, said when the FISA act was passed said the bill didn't recognize the inherent power of the president, the AG of Carter said "It does not take away the power of the president under the statute, but there is no way to mentino it in the statute because the power is in the constitution".
When asked further about ordering electronic surveillance, AG Bell said we can't change the constiution by statute. When asked if the president has the inherent right to put surveillance on an American citizen in this country, he said I do believe the president has that right.
THIS IS IMPORTANT and Sessions is doing a great job.
Oh, puh-leeze. Extending credibility to someone just because they lost a loved one is idiotic -- have we learned nothing from the Sheehan circus?