NYT: President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping

[FourScore]

President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping

By DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: May 16, 2007

WASHINGTON, May 15 — President Bush intervened in March 2004 to avert a crisis over the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping program after Attorney General John Ashcroft, Director Robert S. Mueller III of the F.B.I. and other senior Justice Department aides all threatened to resign, a former deputy attorney general testified Tuesday.

Mr. Bush quelled the revolt over the program’s legality by allowing it to continue without Justice Department approval, also directing department officials to take the necessary steps to bring it into compliance with the law, according to Congressional testimony by the former deputy attorney general, James B. Comey.

Although a conflict over the program had been disclosed in The New York Times, Mr. Comey provided a fuller account of the 48-hour drama, including, for the first time, Mr. Bush’s role, the threatened resignations and a race as Mr. Comey hurried to Mr. Ashcroft’s hospital sickbed to intercept White House officials, who were pushing for approval of the N.S.A. program.

SNIP

Mr. Comey, the former No. 2 official in the Justice Department, said the crisis began when he refused to sign a presidential order reauthorizing the program, which allowed monitoring of international telephone calls and e-mail of people inside the United States who were suspected of having terrorist ties. He said he made his decision after the department’s Office of Legal Counsel, based on an extensive review, concluded that the program did not comply with the law. At the time, Mr. Comey was acting attorney general because Mr. Ashcroft had been hospitalized for emergency gall bladder surgery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/washington/16nsa.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[magellan]

1. Oh good. Let me say it again:

Essentially the Justice Department told Bush** they wouldn't approve his domestic wiretapping program because IT DIDN'T COMPLY WITH THE LAW, but Bush** did it anyway and supposedly brought it into compliance with the same law that the Justice Department had already told him it didn't comply with, WITHOUT their approval.

What's it gonna take, huh? Do we have to amend Article II Section 4 to clarify that the only impeachable offense is a BJ in the oval office?

edited to add logic, this has me so ticked off!

[Old and In the Way]

2. 2004....what happened in 2004?

oh yeah, we had a Presidential election. Given what we know with these scumsuckers politicizing the USA's for electioneering purposes...who really thinks this illegal power grab was all about the GWOT? They wanted access to their real enemies...the Democrats.