Bush Won’t Reauthorize Terrorist Surveillance Program

Posted on January 17, 2007

I’m about to walk out the door and I check on things one last time and see this news! Of course news like this would come out right as I leave. It looks like the Bush Administration decided that trying to keep the program as it is with the new Democrat majority would be a futile fight. Handing things over to FISA for warrants is the primary thing those on the left were asking for. This should effectively end the controversy, but will it end the countless lawsuits by the ACLU and other groups. I wouldn’t bet on it.

The Justice Department, easing a Bush administration policy, said Wednesday it has decided to give an independent body authority to monitor the government’s controversial domestic spying program.

In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said this authority has been given to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and that it already has approved one request for monitoring the communications of a person believed to be linked to al-Qaida or an associated terror group.

The court orders approving collection of international communications â€” whether it originates in the United States or abroad â€” was issued Jan. 10, according to the two-page letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

“As a result of these orders, any electronic surveillance that was occurring as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program will now be conducted subject to the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,” Gonzales wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

I don’t have a lot of time to analyse all of this, so I refer you to Captain Ed:

The new position seems like a significant climbdown on all fronts. References to the AUMF seemed significantly absent from their statement as reported by the AP. The expectation that Congress would grant retroactive approval for the process initiated by the NSA expired at the midterm elections. Now Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has done what the Bush administration said they could not do, which is to construct a process for expedited requests with FISA — and they’ve already used it once.

On one hand, having this process remain in our counterterrorism arsenal is great news. However, for those of us who supported the White House on this contentious point, the speed in which they reached accommodation with FISA will call into question that early support. By my count, we’ve had ten entire weeks since the midterms and they’ve managed to scale a mountain that they claimed was insurmountable for the previous five years.

The American Mind:

Chalk one up for the Democrats and their electoral victory last November. The supposedly stubborn administration (whose arguments were reasonable to me) didnâ€™t â€œstay the courseâ€ on this issue.

Glenn Greewald gloats.

Good ol’ AJ Strata is more optimistic:

So, did the TSP disappear? Hell no. It is now under a new name and working to protect you and your loved ones.

Update:: Here is the letter from Gonzales to the Senate. Too funny, but the FIS Court gave Bush a blank warrant to protect the nation from attack. Actually, what it means is NSA developed leads can be the basis for full FISA warrants that enable monitoring of all communications - not just the ones to the terrorists. Game, Set and Match

» Filed Under ACLU, News, War On Terror

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2 Responses to “Bush Won’t Reauthorize Terrorist Surveillance Program”

Jeff Molby on January 17th, 2007 6:20 pm

will it end the countless lawsuits by the ACLU and other groups. I wouldnâ€™t bet on it.

Nope, it better not, for two reasons:
1. The legality of this type of program needs to be clearly decided so there is no doubt in the mind of future presidents.
2. If the program is deemed to be illegal, those responsible for it must be appropriately punished. A crime does not disappear simply because the criminal stopped committing it.

However, for those of us who supported the White House on this contentious point, the speed in which they reached accommodation with FISA will call into question that early support. By my count, weâ€™ve had ten entire weeks since the midterms and theyâ€™ve managed to scale a mountain that they claimed was insurmountable for the previous five years.

Exactly. The administration has frequently justified its actions by saying things to the effect of “We can’t do things the old way. Terrorism is too difficult to combat with antiquated procedures.”

The degree to which they’ve been proven wrong on this issue seriously calls into question the other issues as well.
gunjam on January 17th, 2007 10:08 pm

Once again — as with John Bolton — the President gives in without a fight. And someone once actually called this guy a conservative? His actions on this matter would have done Gerald Ford proud. — gunjam