Plugs: Gorelick says that the Aldrich Ames case is about physical searches.
Oh good - so we need less probable cause and fewer warrants to have people break into our homes and take stuff out - is that Durbin's point?
Biden: "You gotta know how to know, and we don't know."
Huh?
Plugs: We were told our troops would be greeted with open arms too. That was an honest mistake.
Do you know how many of these wiretaps have resulted in anything?
Gonzales: Without getting into specifics I can say that the Director of the FBI has said it's helped and been valuable. It's identified terrorists in the United States and support for terrorists. Gen. Hayden said this program has helped protect and prevent attacks here and abroad.
“(T)he Department of Justice believes, and the case law supports, that the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes and that the president may, as has been done, delegate this authority to the attorney general.” (Clinton administration Deputy Attorney General Jamie S. Gorelick, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. House Of Representatives, testimony, July 14, 1994)
In 1994, President Clinton expanded the use of warrantless searches to entirely domestic situations with no foreign intelligence value whatsoever. In a radio address promoting a crimefighting bill, Mr. Clinton discussed a new policy to conduct warrantless searches in highly violent public housing projects.” (Charles Hurt, “ ‘Warrantless’ Searches Not Unprecedented,” The Washington Times, Dec. 22.)
“One of the most famous examples of warrantless searches in recent years was the investigation of CIA official Aldrich H. Ames, who ultimately pleaded guilty to spying for the former Soviet Union. That case was largely built upon secret searches of Ames’ home and office in 1993, conducted without federal warrants.” (Charles Hurt, “ ‘Warrantless’ Searches Not Unprecedented,” The Washington Times, Dec. 22)
“(T)he attorney general is authorized to approve physical searches, without a court order, to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year ...” (President Clinton, Executive Order 12949, “Foreign Intelligence Physical Searches,” Feb. 9, 1995).