ACLU Condemns House Resolution Approving SWIFT Program
Posted on June 30, 2006
Yesterday, the House of Representatives condemned the NY Times and other news sources for leaking classified information about the government tracking international bank transactions in efforts of tracing terror funds.
Lawmakers expressed their sentiment through a resolution that was approved on a largely party-line 227-to-183 vote after days of harsh criticism by the Bush administration and Congressional Republicans aimed at The New York Times and other newspapers for publishing details of the program, which the government said was limited to following possible terrorist financial trails.
The vote followed a bitter debate in which Republicans said news accounts had jeopardized the effort, and Democrats accused Republicans of trying to intimidate the press.
Republicans criticized news organizations, and The Times in particular, saying they had not considered the potential damage of revealing the program. “The recent front-page story in the aforementioned New York Times cut the legs out from under this program,” said the resolution’s author, Representative Michael G. Oxley, Republican of Ohio. “Now the terrorists will be driven further underground.”
The ACLU didn’t like this very much.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
“Without the full facts, the House is seeking to condone a controversial Bush program. Instead of passing this resolution, Congress should investigate this White House’s refusal to follow the rule of law. The White House should stop blaming those who have leaked this information and instead end its abuse of power. Congress should be demanding exhaustive hearings determine whether this administration’s program threatens the privacy of Americans.
“What is becoming clear is that Americans’ sensitive financial information has been opened to the prying eyes of the government for years without any independent review. Instead of targeting the media, Congress should be prioritizing our citizens’ privacy. Congress is not fulfilling its constitutional role of providing the oversight that the American people so desperately need. Our government cannot possibly deem something ’lawful‘ when there has been no clear explanation of the depth and scope of the SWIFT program. Congress should not bless the administration’s flipping through our checkbooks before it investigates.”
Here we go again. They are flipping through every American’s checkbook now. Even though the program is limited to following promising leads which are usually large international transactions, the ACLU has to throw out its scaremongering catch phrases. The IRS already thumbs trough all of our checkbooks anyway, unless the ACLU avoid that somehow. Why are democrats and far left organizations like the ACLU defending the leaking of classified information that puts America at greater danger? Maybe the ACLU should focus on cleaning their own house from prying eyes on their own member’s finances for fundraising purposes. What kind of independent review does that get?
Check out the comments to see a sharp guy take apart the ACLU’s lies piece by piece.
Hot Air has video of Bill Keller on Face the Nation.
Expose The Left has video of Hugh Hewitt’s confrontation with Eric Lichtblau, and also the entire 11 minutes of Keller on Face the Nation.
Outside the Beltway has video of Dana Priest discussing revealing classified info.
» Filed Under ACLU, News, War On Terror
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9 Responses to “ACLU Condemns House Resolution Approving SWIFT Program”
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The ACLU has really done it this time! Nearly every sentence is a flat-out lie. This, along with their “cork-popping” following the SCOTUS “rebuke” of the Bush admin. demonstrates that the ACLU does not care one bit if this country is attacked. They care only that their twisted vision of the world is imposed on every American, the preservation of our nation be damned. Islamic Jihadists are “the enemy of my enemy” for the ACLU, an ally in the destruction of the American way of life, so it’s natural that their first instinct would be to jump every time to the defense of our mortal enemy.
“Without the full facts, the House is seeking to condone a controversial Bush program.”
Lie — Congress was briefed extensively. Dems even contacted the NYT to ask that the story not be published because they were aware of how vital it was. The program was never “controversial.” One of the authors is now saying that publicly.
“…this White House’s refusal to follow the rule of law.”
Lie — no one (except the ACLU) has charged that this program is illegal. Anyway, how can the ACLU make this charge if, as they acknowledge, they don’t have the “facts?”
“The White House should stop blaming those who have leaked this information and instead end its abuse of power.”
Lie — again, no one but the ACLU is making the charge that this is an “abuse of power.” I guess the ACLU thinks that any leak any time is fine and dandy! I guess we shouldn’t be going after the “leakers” in Plamegate and instead focus on the abuse of power by a CIA desk jockey who sent her husband on a tax-payer funded junket to Africa for nothing but a lie-filled NYT op-ed. I’m waaaaiting.
“What is becoming clear is that Americans’ sensitive financial information has been opened to the prying eyes of the government for years without any independent review.”
Lie — if this is “clear,” why would the ACLU first admit that they don’t know the facts, then demand “exhaustive hearings?” Do they know this or not?
“Congress is not fulfilling its constitutional role of providing the oversight that the American people so desperately need.”
Lie — again, Congress was well aware of this operation. Oversight was conducted but the ACLU just doesn’t like the result.
“Our government cannot possibly deem something ’lawful‘ when there has been no clear explanation of the depth and scope of the SWIFT program.”
Lie — the people that needed to know the “depth and scope” knew. The ACLU just doesn’t like the result because the ACLU doesn’t like successful execution of the War on Islamic Jihadism.
“Congress should not bless the administration’s flipping through our checkbooks before it investigates.”
Lie — I think I’ve covered it all.
For those you who think that the ACLU has America’s interests in mind because they pretend to, I hope recent days have shaken you awake. You believe their malfeasant misdirection at your own peril.
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