Posted on 01/13/2006 8:12:58 AM PST by laxin4him
President Bush may have broken the law when he authorized the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance on U.S.-based terrorists, ex-president Bill Clinton said Thursday.
Asked if he thought Bush had gone too far by circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap terrorists, Clinton told ABC's "Nightline": "As a legal proposition, I don't know."
He said it would have been better if his successor had followed established legal guidelines, explaining: "It seems to me that unless there's a reason not to, we ought to use that surveillance court."
Clinton said that when he was president, he always tried to work within the constraints of the law.
"My attitude was that once the Congress had spoken on it and given us tools that we needed, we used it, we used the law. It wasn't anything I ever had any question to even think about because I felt that the court and the setup was more than enough to do what we needed to do," he told "Nightline." Clinton predicted that ultimately the Supreme Court would have to decide whether Bush acted illegally.
The former president wasn't asked about projects Echelon and Carnivore, two programs that monitored the electronic communications of millions of Americans during his administration without authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
By saying "It seems to me that unless there's a reason not to, we ought to use that surveillance court." He allows others to draw conclusions, and the press don't ask any qualifier questions.
OK, picture this:
Bubba - Leader of the Free World - standing in the smaller area off of the Oval Office with his trousers and shorts around his ankles, with Monica on her kness in front of him doing what she apparently does best, and Bubba, with his head tilted back and eyes rolling back in their sockets, saying "GO BABY!".
Ummm, this is a man whom we should listen to one word of?
Bubba, just STFU; you are the epitome of irrelevance.
And he's competing strongly against Jimmy Carter for that title too.
The wrong thinking and vileness of former democratic presidents amazes me. When was the last time you heard a former Republican president bashing a Democratic Pres. and push toward the "impeachment gang"? How unseemly! No wonder the rest of the world looks at the US and laughs.
"Clinton said that when he was president, he always tried to work within the constraints of the law."
He said he "tried" -- he didn't say he tried very hard or was successful...
"Always tried" are the key Clinton-speak words here.He doesn't say ALWAYS without qualifying it.
"tried" to get us a tax cut
or "tried" to get Ben Laden
I guess you could say the Clinton presidency was a very trying experience for us all.
As with everything...it's the thought that counts.
The real deal is:The crud has been disbarred for life from ever doing business in front of the Supreme Court.
I'd say he did something really, really bad to have that on his resume.
In two days, Hillary will "feel safe enough" to repeat his statement adding that the people have the right to know...and the Dems are filling out the Supreme Court paperwork as we speak.
Notice however, that he says "As a legal proposition, I don't know" which counters everything else he is saying.
That's a surprise because he always touts himself as a Constitutional lawyer.
As long as one word out of the mouth of Bill Clinton is considered to be news worthy; the collective sanity of America will remain in grave doubt.
HE IS LUCKY HIS DEALINGS WITH RED CHINA WERE NOT INVESTIGATED!
Billy or hitlery klinton talking about LAWLESSNESS is about as ironic as teddy kennedy grilling ANYONE regarding values.
Oh Thanks for the scoop! Bill we really TREASURE your opinionssssssss.
Unless there is a reason...hey Bill did you not hear of 9-11? Allow meto refresh you memory, 3000 Americans killed by a man you allowed to remain free.
But collecting 700 FBI files on private AMERICAN CITIZENS, was just an "innocent bureauratic snafu" in HIS administration. He and his wife should be breaking rocks at a Federal Prison.
Clinton said that when he was president, he always tried to work within the constraints of the law.
Too funny....... Great black comedian....
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