Bush signs anti-torture bill then issues "signing statement""

[yy4me]

Todays Boston Globe. According to this front page story in the Globe, his highness signed the bill and then quietly signed a little letter stating that he will interpret the law in any way he sees fit...
How much more will he get away with in the name of national security? This is a case of the law is for everyone else but me and mine.

[marmar]

1. "How much more will he get away with in the name of national security?"

I don't know, but this is ridiculous. Laws are just suggestions to this meglamaniac - he thinks he can do whatever he pleases, which I guess is true 'cause no one stops him.

:grr:

[Vickers]

2. That little "signing statement" won't mean shit when we gain control

of the House and Senate.

[Eric J in MN]

3. Here is a link.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/01/04/bush_could_bypass_new_torture_ban?mode=PF

Bush could bypass new torture ban: Waiver right is reserved

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | January 4, 2006

WASHINGTON -- When President Bush last week signed the bill outlawing the torture of detainees, he quietly reserved the right to bypass the law under his powers as commander in chief.

After approving the bill last Friday, Bush issued a ''signing statement" -- an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law -- declaring that he will view the interrogation limits in the context of his broader powers to protect national security. This means Bush believes he can waive the restrictions, the White House and legal specialists said.

''The executive branch shall construe in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President . . . as Commander in Chief," Bush wrote, adding that this approach ''will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President . . . of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks."

Some legal specialists said yesterday that the president's signing statement, which was posted on the White House website but had gone unnoticed over the New Year's weekend, raises serious questions about whether he intends to follow the law.