Are you talking about the rape and groping claims?
Just because JFK did it, Clinton did and Bush does it (those are three articles I've read), doesn't mean it's Constitutional.
Strange that Bush did not say something about this, if it were real...
ping
"Clinton did it" is a pretty sorry rationale for government spying on American citizens. Clinton did a lot of things that shouldn't have been done.
Where was the "civil liberties" crowd when the Clinton Admin was using US Army tanks to massacre the Branch Davidians, women and children included?
The Constitution has not been in effect since before FDR. Let's not kid ourselves.
They'll back down now. Watch Bill Clinton along with Jimmy Carter announce that what Bush did was wrong... or has it happened already?
I am looking forward to Gorelick writing a letter in support of President Bush's authority. As Jamie says: "The Department of Justice believes, and the case law supports, that the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes..."
His IRS activities are needed, release the entire Barrett report.
[Federal Register page and date: 60 FR 8169; February 13, 1995]
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 9, 1995
EXECUTIVE ORDER 12949
- - - - - - -
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE PHYSICAL SEARCHES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States, including sections 302 and 303 of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("Act") (50 U.S.C. 1801,
et seq.), as amended by Public Law 103- 359, and in order to provide for
the authorization of physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes
as set forth in the Act, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Pursuant to section 302(a)(1) of the Act, the
Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches, without a
court order, to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of
up to one year, if the Attorney General makes the certifications
required by that section.
Sec. 2. Pursuant to section 302(b) of the Act, the Attorney
General is authorized to approve applications to the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court under section 303 of the Act to obtain
orders for physical searches for the purpose of collecting foreign
intelligence information.
Sec. 3. Pursuant to section 303(a)(7) of the Act, the following
officials, each of whom is employed in the area of national security or
defense, is designated to make the certifications required by section
303(a)(7) of the Act in support of applications to conduct physical
searches:
(a) Secretary of State;
(b) Secretary of Defense;
(c) Director of Central Intelligence;
(d) Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(e) Deputy Secretary of State;
(f) Deputy Secretary of Defense; and
(g) Deputy Director of Central Intelligence.
None of the above officials, nor anyone officially acting in that
capacity, may exercise the authority to make the above certifications,
unless that official has been appointed by the President, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 9, 1995.
Why didn't we impeach him for this? Seems like the GOP gave him a pass on an awful lot of stuff he did.
It seems clear to me that any branch of government that tried to usurp the President's powers to protect the country is flat wrong.
BUMP for later read and passing it along.
"THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW [Cliff May]
“The issue here is this: If you’re John McCain and you just got Congress to agree to limits on interrogation techniques, why would you think that limits anything if the executive branch can ignore can ignore it by asserting its inherent authority?”- Jamie Gorelick, former deputy attorney general under President Clinton, in today’s Washington Post, p. A10.
"The 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.
"It is important to understand, that the rules and methodology for criminal searches are inconsistent with the collection of foreign intelligence and would unduly frustrate the president in carrying out his foreign intelligence responsibilities." - Jamie Gorelick testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on July 14, 1994, as quoted by Byron today elsewhere on NRO.
Gorelick is making a simple point: The rules are different when there is a Democrat in the White House. What about that don’t you understand?
Posted at 10:30 AM"
http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_12_18_corner-archive.asp#085176
Every DemocRAT who is opening his/her big fat mouth blathering about everything from abuse of power to impeachment...needs to shut up, sit down and READ the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978.