FISA judges say Bush within law

Posted on March 29, 2006

A panel of former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges yesterday told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush did not act illegally when he created by executive order a wiretapping program conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA).

The five judges testifying before the committee said they could not speak specifically to the NSA listening program without being briefed on it, but that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not override the president’s constitutional authority to spy on suspected international agents under executive order.

“If a court refuses a FISA application and there is not sufficient time for the president to go to the court of review, the president can under executive order act unilaterally, which he is doing now,” said Judge Allan Kornblum, magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and an author of the 1978 FISA Act. “I think that the president would be remiss exercising his constitutional authority by giving all of that power over to a statute.”

I’m sure this will be a hard pill to swallow for many on the Bush hating left. As a matter of fact, Powerline took notice to how an involved party, The NY Times have already tried to sugar coat it.

Having reviewed the transcript, I conclude that the Washington Times’ characterization was fair, but arguably overstated. The New York Times, however, badly misled its readers.

Of course this is no suprise coming from the original backstabbing source of the National Security leak. After all, they do have a book they are trying to peddel.

Don Surber is on the same wavelength.
Meanwhile, the ACLU are still crying about it all.

» Filed Under News, War On Terror

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Comments

2 Responses to “FISA judges say Bush within law”

Draven32 on March 29th, 2006 10:14 pm

New flash opnly to the ACLU and Bush bashers….
The Bosun on March 30th, 2006 1:36 am

Funny how this works. The Dems say it is illegal. A judge steps down because he feels unconfortable about warrantless wiretaps. The country seems to see the logic behind the program. The liberal movement looses steam. The MSM starts to put it on the back burner. And, FISA judges say President Bush is within the law. Are the liberals out in left field or what? You libbies do not have to answer that question on the grounds it will incriminate you as being dumber than rocks.