Pelosi Questions Bush's Spying Program

[wicket]

LINK

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says President Bush should have used his extensive authority under the law to monitor suspected terrorists rather than approve the National Security Agency's disputed monitoring program.

"I would not want any president — Democrat or Republican — to have the expanded power the administration is claiming in this case," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Pelosi did not say the NSA's surveillance program was illegal. But she said the administration should follow the procedures in the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows government lawyers to ask a secretive court for warrants for surveillance in the United States during national security investigations.

"If you say ... this is for a narrow universe of calls, there is absolutely no issue with getting a FISA warrant for that," said Pelosi, who was the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and has been involved for the past 13 years in overseeing U.S. intelligence agencies. "It is when you go beyond that, that it becomes a challenge," she said in the interview Friday. "The president says he is not going beyond that, so why can't he obey the law?"

[KoKo]

1. Pelosi did not say it was "illegal" didn't she ask four Legal Scholars to

investigate the legality? What? Did the four legal scholars come back and tell her that it was "borderline?"

Please.....shouldn't she have that information before she speaks and gives the media a chance to paint her comments the way they want? :shrug:

[Bozvotros]

2. Spell it out for the folks Nancy

Every time a Dem gets a microphone in front of them they need to remimd folks that the only thing we know for sure is that Bush is spying without warrants on US citizens and he just says it is overseas call only. Remind them that he broke the law and that there are consequences for that. Remind them he can't interpret a law however he sees fit and that thousands of people have been spyed on and millions of messages intercepted. Remind them that he is stonewalling another investigation and of how he has stonewalled and refused to cooperate with every investigation into his administratration. Call him a liar. Go ahead Nancy. Do it.

[rodeodance]

3. She does have to walk this fine line-

..Pelosi tried to walk carefully between making a case for national security and protecting civil liberties.

She rejected recent comments by Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican Party, that Pelosi and Democratic Party leader
Howard Dean would want the NSA to hang up when terrorists dial their sleeper cells.

"It is a disservice to a very serious debate about security and liberty for him to resort to that kind of a statement," Pelosi said.

[Theduckno2]

5. I give Representative Pelosi credit for this press release.

While everyone is watching the Alito confirmation vote, she keeps the heat on Bushco regarding the illegal domestic spying.

The recent report that the U.S. military is stretched thin and Hamas having been elected in the West Bank/Gaza Strip, have served to keep Bushco on the defensive.

If I could only get Fitgerald to fit Karl Rove for an orange jumpsuit! Here's hoping. :toast:

[IndianaGreen]

6. If Pelosi cannot defend the Constitution, she should resign

and go get a job at a convenience store. A cashier has a better grasp of security and liberty than Pelosi has!

[IndianaGreen]

4. Stupid woman! Bush broke the law, he should be impeached!

Get your head out of your ass, Pelosi!

You are the Democratic version of a Holocaust denier!

[OnyxCollie]

8. Back off Nancy.

There's more than one way to win a war. While others decry the legality of wiretapping, an equally important attack is to question what "suspects" required the violation of a federal law. No, as Ken Mehlman falsely states, Dems do not want to hang up on terrorists, and if such a limited group of highly-probable suspects is offered to the FISA court for warrants, there should be no problem staying within the law. So, why would certain cases need exception? Of course, Bushco's gonna say it's legal. Every criminal does. It's still vital to discover who was wiretapped. If it can be proved that Bushco has an enemies list, that will be an indictment in itself.

Edit for typo

[IndianaGreen]

11. Bush is a dictator and has put himself above the Constitution

If Pelosi cannot grasp the significance of that, she has no business being in Congress.

This is one issue that transcends political parties and ideologies. The fate of our Republic is at stake!

[OnyxCollie]

12. I understand that, and I'm sure Nancy does, too.

But this is another way of tackling the problem. Some say it's illegal. Probably is. Bushco's says it's legal, and you know Harriet the Spy worked her little size six pumps off to find some bullshit loophole defense. Finding out who was spied on might be a quicker means to an end, ie. removing Chimpy from office.

[IndianaGreen]

13. Bush violated the FISA law

those are grounds for impeachment. There is no middle ground about this, no triangulation, no DLC regurgitation. If Bush is not impeached, then we have lost the Republic for good and elections become moot.

[OnyxCollie]

14. Yeah, and if Alito makes it to the SCOTUS,

we may be shit out of luck. So, of we can expose who was spied on, and it was someone like a reporter, or average citizen, or Democratic politician the illegality will be the icing on the cake.

[Hyernel]

7. She should be condemning it, not questioning it.

Call for independent council/

[FrankLee]

9. She's keeping her eye on it - good for her

The argument Bush and his administration use to defend the crime is essentially that they were authorized by Congress to "do what is necessary" to fight the war on terror.

Under that rationale, no prior law applies to the President! There is no rule of law! The fact that they continue to defend this program that is entirely legally indefensible is embarassing, but they don't care because it's the War on Terror! Hide your women and children! Cower in fear!

Using the War on Terror to justify everything ignores the real problems and prevents outside the box thinking on how to solve them!

Keep hammering at it Nancy.

[HuffleClaw]

10. "...Bush approved a program that allows warrantless..."

WHY the hell is the media allowing this damned SPIN? this is not 'an NSA program', it is a BUSH program.