Posted on 02/12/2006 5:51:37 AM PST by conservativecorner
Despite former President Jimmy Carter's pointed jabs at the Bush administration over the NSA surveillance program this past week, it turns out that Carter has more familiarity with warrantless eavesdropping than he let on. Today's Washington Times reports that Carter and his Attorney General authorized warrantless electronic surveillance on two suspected espionage agents, one of whom was an American citizen:
Former President Jimmy Carter, who publicly rebuked President Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program this week during the funeral of Coretta Scott King and at a campaign event, used similar surveillance against suspected spies. "Under the Bush administration, there's been a disgraceful and illegal decision -- we're not going to the let the judges or the Congress or anyone else know that we're spying on the American people," Mr. Carter said Monday in Nevada when his son Jack announced his Senate campaign. ...
But in 1977, Mr. Carter and his attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, authorized warrantless electronic surveillance used in the conviction of two men for spying on behalf of Vietnam.
(Excerpt) Read more at captainsquartersblog.com ...
Typical lib. Do as I say, not as I do.
To be perfectly fair, this was before the FISA Act was signed. The Act was signed in 1978 and Carter spied in 1977.
But it is important that Carter's AG said that nothing about FISA could take away the president's constitutional authority.
This is one thing Carter did that is respectable. Not rebuking Bush, but actually wiretapping terrorists without warrants.
Which makes me wonder why Carter felt the need for FISA. Because he knew he wouldn't win re-election and he wanted to make life harder for his successor?
What a smarmy, stupid, lying little weasel.
That wouldn't surprise me at all. Didn't Clinton say something along the lines of "We left them some smoking bombs"?
I would love for someone to to a story on just exactly the FISA of 1978 came about. Now I'm curious.
There's also a link to Carter's signing statement that makes interesting reading.
Mr. Carter is still is disbelief that he and Roselyn produced the ugliest girl in the world.
And Carter didn't nip anything "in the bud."
Facts On Warrantless Wire Taps:
2/8/06
Posted on 02/08/2006 6:19:03 AM PST by excludethis
George Washington used warrantless interception of mail between the British and Americans. In fact, Washington contrived a means of opening British letters without breaking the seals, take copies of the contents, and then let them go on. That fascist Washington, reading mail without a warrant!
Abraham Lincoln used warrantless telegraph wiretapping. Lincoln even arrested newspaper publishers. That fascist Lincoln reading every American's telegraph messages and arresting newspaper men without a warrant!
President Wilson ordered the warrantless interception of all cable communications between the United States and Europe. That fascist Wilson reading every American's cable wires without a warrant!
President Roosevelt order gave the Government of the United States access without a warrant all communications by mail, cable, radio, or other means of transmission passing between the United States and any foreign country. FDR in a letter to his Attorney General: "You are, therefore, authorized and directed in such cases as you may approve, after investigation of the need in each case, to authorize the necessary investigation agents that they are at liberty to secure information by listening devices directed to the conversation or other communications of persons suspected of subversive activities against the Government of the United States, including suspected spies." On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt gave the Director of the FBI “powers to direct all news censorship and to control all other telecommunications traffic in and out of the United States.” That fascist FDR, reading and listening to every American's communications and censoring the news without a warrant!
Kennedy used warrantless wiretaps on Martin Luther King that were simply approved by his little brother, the attorney general at the time. That fascist Kennedy, listening to a preacher's telephone calls without a warrant!
Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12139 on May 23, 1979, declaring that “the Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order.”Then there is Carter's AG testifying in front of Congress as it was debating FISA: "the current bill recognizes no inherent power of the President to conduct electronic surveillance, and I want to interpolate here to say that this does not take away the power [of] the President under the Constitution.” That fascist Carter, doing foreign intelligence without a warrant and asserting FISA did not take away the President has the inherent Constitutional power to conduct warrantless wire taps!
Clinton also authorized the NSA to wiretap and search the home of CIA spy Aldrich Ames. He soon broadened the NSA’s authority to include “classified electronic surveillance techniques, such as infrared sensors to observe people inside their homes.” The balls of Clinton, search a man's home in the USA of without a warrant. That fascist Clinton, catching a spy and sending him to prison with information obtained without a warrant!
President Bill Clinton’s Echelon program intercepted “literally millions of communications involving United States citizens.” An NSA source says this included then-U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. Under the ECHELON program, the NSA and certain foreign intelligence agencies throw an extremely wide net over virtually all electronic communications world-wide. There are no warrants. No probable cause requirements. No FISA court. And information is intercepted that is communicated solely between U.S. citizens within the U.S. That fascist Clinton, listening in on every American's communications and even a Republican Senator that was 90 years old. Probably looking for some good phone sex, but not outrage from any Democrats here.
Jamie Gorelick, the 9/11 Commission member and former high-ranking Clinton Justice Department official, told the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1994, “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.” That fascists Clinton Justice Department, asserting the President has the inherent Constitutional power to conduct warrantless wire taps!
On February 9, 1995, Clinton signed Executive Order 12949, stating, “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.” That fascists Clinton, authorizing warrantless wire taps!
Eavesdropping is less heavy-handed than firing missiles or holding terrorists in detention. Supreme Court found it was appropriate to detain an American citizen for fighting alongside al-Qaida. "How can it be that merely listening to al-Qaida phone calls into and out of the country in order to disrupt their plots is not?"
Of course it is not as the above shows was the case under every war time President. Democrats are playing pure politics with the safety and security of all Americans. The below items clearly show the courts have already found warrantless searches by a President is proper.
However, because of the President's constitutional duty to act for the United States in the field of foreign relations, and his inherent power to protect national security in the context of foreign affairs, we reaffirm what we held in United States v. Clay, supra, that the President may constitutionally authorize warrantless wiretaps for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence."--United States v. Brown, 484 F.2d 418, 426 (1973)
"We agree with the district court that the Executive Branch need not always obtain a warrant for foreign intelligence surveillance."--U.S. v. Truong Dinh Hung, 629 F.2d 908, 913 (1980)
"Prior to the enactment of FISA, virtually every court that had addressed the issue had concluded that the President had the inherent power to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance to collect foreign intelligence information, and that such surveillances constituted an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment."--United States v. Duggan, 743 F.2d 59 (1984)
"The Truong court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent [constitutional] authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information."--In re Sealed Case, 310, F3d. 717, 742 (2002)
"If a war be made by invasion of a foreign nation, the President is not only authorized but bound to resist force by force. He does not initiate the war, but is bound to accept the challenge without waiting for any special legislative authority." --The Amy Warwick (The "Prize Cases"), 67, U.S. 635, 668 (1862)
"The Founders in their wisdom made [the President] not only the Commander-in-Chief but also the guiding organ in the conduct of our foreign affairs," possessing "vast powers in relation to the outside world." Ludecke v. Watkins, 335 U.S. 160, 173 (1948). Foreign affairs power the “exclusive power of the President as sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations - a power which does not require as a basis for its exercise an act of Congress." United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304, 320 (1936).
Protecting the national security is also Presidential domain. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 812 n.19 (1982). The President's constitutional primacy flows from both his unique position in the constitutional structure, and from the specific grants of authority in Article II that make the President both the Chief Executive of the Nation and the Commander in Chief. See Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731, 749-50 (1982).
As Hamilton explained: "the circumstances which may affect the public safety are [not] reducible within certain determinate limits, . . . it must be admitted, as a necessary consequence that there can be no limitation of that authority which is to provide for the defense and protection of the community in any matter essential to its efficiency."
”The command and application of the public force . . . to maintain peace, and to resist foreign invasion" are executive powers. Application of Yamashita, 327 U.S. 1, 12 (1946). The authority to protect national security is not limited to actions necessary for "victories in the field." Id. The authority over national security "carries with it the inherent power to guard against the immediate renewal of the conflict." Id.
The President “has broad discretion in determining when the public emergency is such as to give rise to the necessity" for emergency measures. Kahanamoku, 327 U.S. at 336. "[T]he President has independent authority to repel aggressive acts by third parties even without specific statutory authorization." Campbell v. Clinton, 203 F.3d 19 The Constitution gives the power to the President “to preserve order and insure the public safety . . . . when other branches of the government . . . functioning would itself threaten the public safety." Duncan v. Kahanamoku, 327 U.S. 304, 335 (1946) (Stone, C.J., concurring).
The courts have affirmed it is President’s constitutional responsibility to respond to that threat with whatever means are necessary. See, e.g., Prize Cases, 67 U.S. at 635.
The Supreme Court has made clear that it will not construe legislative powers so as to prevent the President "from accomplishing its constitutionally assigned functions." Nixon v. Administrator of General Servs., 433 U.S. 425, 443 (1977).
bookmark re: Carter
bump
Unless little ms. Carter has had serious and major plastic surgery I don't believe she looks like this.
She has obviously come into her own.
Amy isn't a public figure like either of her parents, so I, personally, have a hands off policy.
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