AP Showdown Looms Over Domestic Spying

[rodeodance]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Domestic-Eavesdropping.html?pagewanted=print


December 16, 2006
Showdown Looms Over Domestic Spying
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 2:40 p.m. ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Federal agents continue to eavesdrop on Americans' electronic communications without warrants a year after President Bush confirmed the practice, and experts say a new Congress' efforts to limit the program could trigger a constitutional showdown.

High-ranking Democrats set to take control of both chambers are mulling ways to curb the program Bush secretly authorized a month after the Sept. 11 attacks. The White House argues the Constitution gives the president wartime powers to eavesdrop that he wouldn't have during times of peace.

''As a practical matter, the president can do whatever he wants as long as he has the capacity and executive branch officials to do it,'' said Carl Tobias, a legal scholar at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

Lawmakers could impeach or withhold funding, or quash judicial nominations, among other measures.

The president, however, can veto legislation, including a law demanding the National Security Agency obtain warrants before monitoring communications. Such a veto would force Congress to muster a two-thirds vote to override.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Which they better do

when you have the likes of Bob Barr joining the Libertarians, you know there are plenty of conservatives out there who won't hold with unlimited spying. I bet the 2/3 override will come.

[leveymg]

2. Withhold money for domestic spying and White House Operations

Break down bills so that money can't be allocated for unwanted purposes -- such as paying private NSA contractors operating domestic electronic monitoring and and Karl Rove's salary.

Even if Bush vetoes these bills, the money still won't be there. These programs will have to stop, particularly if Congress refuses to pass Continuing Resolutions.

[ixion]

3. what's the showdown? Bush broke the law... there is no 'war'

other than the one going one in his muddled little brain. :grr:

[ShockediSay]

4. Did congress pass a declaration of War? Against whom? nt

[ixion]

8. exactly. there is NO Declaration of War

hence, we are not at 'war', hence the 'war-time' powers argument is pretty much BS.

[bemildred]

5. Impeach the son of a bitch.

Are we to have a rule of law, or of one man?

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Ah, the ultimate constitutional showdown

I'm afraid the only one that is appropriate any more.

[bemildred]

10. Unfortunately, I don't think anything less will do the job, at this point.

We are not yet to the point where Senators get hauled off to Gitmo for speaking up, but it's within sight of where we are now.

[pokercat999]

13. There is more then one response:

One solution is to give the repugs a country they want. They could have about half the US, could call it Jesusland, and have their theocracy. They could spy on one another to their hearts content, guard their borders and let only "true believers" in. They could even report one another to "big brother" as that is what they seem to want. A christian taliban party would be the only political party and you would have to join....period.

In the meantime the left could form a real gov't "of the people, for the people and by the people".

[Harper_is_Bush]

6. Hate to be a stickler, but your title confused me. Missing ":" after AP.

[Katzenjammer]

9. There already *IS* a @#$%! law that NSA must get a warrant!

What in the hell is the matter with people?

[Robbien]

11. So True. It is already illegal. We don't need new laws, just new enforcers.

No one wants to say out loud the President and all his men are breaking current laws. These pansies keep talking about proposing new laws which would just be duplicates of the ones the WH gang is currently breaking.

[Katzenjammer]

12. Exactly! If they gave a damn about the Constitution, we'd be seeing a big trial

on tv with about 30-40 guys sitting in the dock. Just like Nuremberg, only in color and without the headsets.