Except "in time of war". Recall that FDR interned 110,000 Americans citizens of Japanese descent during WW II. Recall that Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War.
Recall that, according to the Constitution itself, national security while in a state of war supersedes some elements of the Bill of Rights (e.g., 4th amendment).
"The United States Constitution is not a suicide pact", Abraham Lincoln, 1863.
Recall that, according to the Constitution itself, national security while in a state of war supersedes some elements of the Bill of Rights (e.g., 4th amendment).
That defense might make sense if not for items like this:
"Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.", George W. Bush, 2004
(taken from the White House website.)
This cannot be reconciled with what we now know. Even under the most Klintonic parsing of the language, he's lying.