Posted on 01/20/2006 1:21:22 PM PST by flixxx
Updated: 2:21 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2006 WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is opening a campaign to push back against criticism of its domestic spying program, ahead of congressional hearings into whether President Bush has the legal authority to eavesdrop on Americans.
President Bush will visit the ultra-secret National Security Agency on Wednesday, underscoring his claim that he has the constitutional authority to let intelligence officials listen in on international phone calls of Americans with suspected ties to terrorists.
“We are stepping up our efforts to educate the American people,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said about Bush’s trip to the NSA, based at Fort Meade in Maryland.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
It's not "domestic spying". It's intercepts of international transmissions to and/or from numbers associated with Al Qaida. If they're going to mischaracterize it four hundred times a day we should be correcting them four hundred times a day.
I wonder just how much he'll see there. I remember a three-star General in the building once. He had a nice red "VISITOR" badge and an armed escort. He didn't get to see very much.
The "need to know" culture at the NSA is amazing. Presidents come and go. The NSA is always there.
Say it often enough, it becomes true...that has worked before with the Media...
The writer is a graduate of the Jos. Goebel School of Journalism.
Good day not to go play golf at Fort Meade!
You are right it is legal...take a course on intelligence oversight.
These lawyer talking heads don't know what they are talking about, the President's authorities and don't want to acknowledge that the President retains war powers authorities and is the lead for foreign intelligence.
...NO PRESIDENT has accepted the "War Powers Act" as binding; Congressional FISA legislation is comformed with for reasonableness reasons-- it does not impede national security and protects rights,but the President is not bound by Congress on that either...for those who keep whining about FISA-- the FISA court of review admitted the President's "inherent" authorities to conduct "warrantless searches;" it is done for foreign intelligence not for personal or political gain and Congress has been informed...
Do not forget Article 1 Section 9 in the Constitution...Bush can suspend habeous corpus and throw the NYT editorial staff and journalists in jail for violating national secrets and if he can do that he can certainly use NSA for domestic surveillance tied to foreign intelligence.
...that also means he can keep those little 'sh..heads' in GITMO as long as wants irrespective of what any court says if he needs to play that card...
When will the MSM ever start with the TRUTH? This is not a DOMESTIC spying program. One end of the intercept MUST be outside the US.
W in the house *ping*
"One end of the intercept MUST be outside the US."
Sounds good...Do you really believe this is true?
Bridge, "Great East River", for sale...
Article I relates to Congressional powers, not executive powers.
Ex parte Merryman, 17 F. Cas. 144 (1861)
Ex Parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 1 (1866)
BOTH cases found Lincoln's suspensions of habeas corpus to be unconstitutional.
Not that ALL unilateral executive suspensions of habeas corpus would be, but those were.
Heads up...
It's a shorthand, designed to cause ruckus. There is no alternative shorthand, as use of the word "foreign" without more (i.e., "foreign spying program") is a yawner.
It takes a phrase to describe the nature of the surveillance; but I believe it is conceded that some people in the US (citizens and/or legal residents) are being monitored to some extent, without obtaining a warrant.
See today's news Man who sold U.S. secrets gets 12 years in prison
A better link 12 years in prison for giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat
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