Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Arlen Specter, said yesterday that he is ``seriously considering" filing legislation to give Congress legal standing to sue President Bush over his use of signing statements to reserve the right to bypass laws. Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, made his comments after a Judiciary Committee hearing on signing statements, which are official documents that Bush has used to challenge the constitutionality of more than 750 laws when signing legislation . Bush has issued more signing statements than all previous presidents combined. But he has never vetoed a bill, depriving Congress of any chance to...

* On the seemingly uphill re-election campaign of his fellow Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Rick Santorum, whom Specter praised highly and called "indispensable to my re-election" two years ago: "His re-election is my number one priority.... We have a very close personal relationship as well as political and professional." "He will win unless there is an avalanche.... He's a very forceful senator." ... * On the Democrats' conduct during hearings for judicial nominees, Specter was close to scathing. "Schumer was absolutely rude to Alito." Filibusters "lost them Daschle and lost them a fair number of seats." * On various Democrats: Minority...

The following is a partial transcript of the April 9, 2006, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace": "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" GUEST HOST BRIT HUME: On Friday, a Senate compromise on immigration fell apart, leaving in doubt, for now at least, whether passage of a bill that would resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants living here is possible. Joining us now to discuss what's next is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter, who comes to us from Cartagena, Colombia. He's on the first stop of a trip through South America to check, among...

Sen. Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Sunday that while President Bush's terrorist surveillance program is a "flat out violation" of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it may be entirely legal because of powers granted the president by the Constitution. "There is an involved question here . . . as to whether the president's powers under Article 2, his inherent powers, supersede a statute." Specter told NBC's "Meet the Press." The Pennsylvania Republican said that if the FISA statute "is inconsistent with the Constitution, the Constitution governs and the constitutional powers predominate." Specter, whose committee is set to commence...