Bush Spying Relied on Faulty Theories

[babylonsister]

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/071209b.html

Bush Spying Relied on Faulty Theories

By Jason Leopold
July 12, 2009

George W. Bush justified his warrantless wiretapping by relying on Justice Department attorney John Yoo’s theories of unlimited presidential wartime powers, and started the spying operation even before Yoo issued a formal opinion, a government investigation discovered.


Essentially, President Bush took it upon himself to ignore the clear requirement of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that all domestic intelligence-related electronic spying must have a warrant from a secret federal court, not just presidential approval. Illegal wiretapping is a felony under federal law.

The July 10 report by the inspectors general of the CIA, National Security Agency, Justice Department and Defense Department also didn’t identify any specific terrorist attack that was thwarted by what was known as the President’s Surveillance Program (PSP), although Bush has claimed publicly that his warrantless wiretapping “helped detect and prevent terrorist attacks on our own country.”

In a 38-page unclassified report, the inspectors general said most U.S. intelligence officials who were interviewed “had difficulty citing specific instances where PSP reporting had directly contributed to counterterrorism successes.”

snip//

After the inspectors generals’ report was released Friday, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, renewed his calls for a bipartisan “truth commission” to examine abuses of power during the Bush administration.

“This report underscores why we should move forward with a nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry,” Leahy said. “Without a thorough, independent review of decisions that run counter to our laws and treaties, we cannot ensure that these same mistakes are not repeated. Such a Commission must have bipartisan support to be able to truly get to the bottom of these issues with objectivity and credibility.”

Leahy’s counterpart in the House, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, who also has been pushing for investigations and has called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Bush-era abuses, said the report showed that Bush “broke the law” by “personally authorizing the warrantless surveillance program.”

Conyers added, “The refusal of key Bush administration officials such as {Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief counsel} David Addington and John Yoo to cooperate with the IGs’ review underscores the need for an independent commission with subpoena power to further review these issues, as I have called for.”

[monmouth]

1. I read too fast and thought it said Fawlty Towers.....n/t

[jakeXT]

4. on, those, trays

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8DngrgIpS0

[jimshoes]

2. Treason is not a mistake,

it's a high crime and should be treated as such.

[Turbineguy]

3. Bush pretty much

relied on faulty theories for everything.

OK, the Do Not Call list was an exception.