Bush asserted this authority when he signed a postal overhaul bill into law Dec. 20. He then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions. That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, experts said. Bush's move came during the winter congressional recess and a year after his secret domestic electronic eavesdropping program was first revealed. It caught Capitol Hill by surprise. "Despite the president's statement that he may be able to circumvent a basic privacy protection, the new postal law continues to prohibit the government...