"1st time a pres has authorized gov to violate criminal prohibition"

Domestic Spying Criminal Penalties and Civil Liability

The Washington Post, following up on yesterday's New York Times revelations reports that the Bush administration's domestic spying violates the law:

President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.

The super-secretive NSA, which has generally been barred from domestic spying except in narrow circumstances involving foreign nationals, has monitored the e-mail, telephone calls and other communications of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people under the program, the New York Times disclosed last night...

The law governing clandestine surveillance in the United States, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, prohibits conducting electronic surveillance not authorized by statute. A government agent can try to avoid prosecution if he can show he was "engaged in the course of his official duties and the electronic surveillance was authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order of a court of competent jurisdiction," according to the law.

"This is as shocking a revelation as we have ever seen from the Bush administration," said Martin, who has been sharply critical of the administration's surveillance and detention policies. "It is, I believe, the first time a president has authorized government agencies to violate a specific criminal prohibition and eavesdrop on Americans."

For anyone interested the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is here.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/donors/solicit.php?http_referer=/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sup_01_50_10_36.html
http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2005/12/002161.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600021.html

Impeach the WAR CRIMINAL!!!

And that my freind is what they mean by the "high crime" in the phrase high crime and treason, if I'm not mistaken.

That the majority of people in this country aren't outraged enough to storm D.C. with torches and pitchforks speaks to the corruption of our society, imho.

But what is anybody going to do about it?

Society as a whole is almost beyond redemption..IMO

Not that he hasn't done anything else to deserve it but this takes the cake.

I'm guessing Kerry's comments yesterday were planned. 2006 is going to be a most interesting year. I really think it'll be Bush last in the WH.

Or at least someone "in the know".....

Go Kerry!

Heck, I'm not sure he'll make it to the end of the winter at this rate. How many more dastardly deeds will be revealed in the coming days and weeks? It's like all the crap from his first term is coming back on him all at once. And boy, does he deserve it! Hopefully a goodly amount of crap will splash onto Dick as well.

I don't understand all the finer points but does this have anything to do with things? Anything that will help put that bastard away?

Scholar says Bush has used obscure doctrine to extend power 95 times

Continued...
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_0923.html

I can just hear him now, "Ain't nuthin' wrong with mah kidneys."

I wonder if they're plying Bush with booze and drugs so that they can "recall" him for being insane?

to fix the 'leaks'....but I don't think he signed an order, i think he just authorized it covertly to get his political enemies.

Anyway Nixon resigned, so I'll be waiting to see Smirky's resignation by Christmas

That was the very finding of the DOJ torture memo: the president, as CinC can order torture, and in secret.

If the president can sign a piece of paper putting you in jail forever, like Padilla, then whycan't he open your mail or tap your phones? Stop complaining and sticking your nose in national security matters or it's the brig for you.

Waihopai, INFOSEC, Information Security, Information Warfare, IW, IS, Priavacy, Information Terrorism, Terrorism Defensive Information, Defense Information Warfare, Offensive Information, Offensive Information Warfare, National Information Infrastructure, InfoSec, Reno, Compsec, Computer Terrorism, Firewalls, Secure Internet Connections, ISS, Passwords, DefCon V, Hackers, Encryption, Espionage, USDOJ, NSA, CIA, S/Key, SSL, FBI, Secert Service, USSS, Defcon, Military, White House, Undercover, NCCS, Mayfly, PGP, PEM, RSA, Perl-RSA, MSNBC, bet, AOL, AOL TOS, CIS, CBOT, AIMSX, STARLAN, 3B2, BITNET, COSMOS, DATTA, E911, FCIC, HTCIA, IACIS, UT/RUS, JANET, JICC, ReMOB, LEETAC, UTU, VNET, BRLO, BZ, CANSLO, CBNRC, CIDA, JAVA, Active X, Compsec 97, LLC, DERA, Mavricks, Meta-hackers, ^?, Steve Case, Tools, Telex, Military Intelligence, Scully, Flame, Infowar, Bubba, Freeh, Archives, Sundevil, jack, Investigation, ISACA, NCSA, spook words, Verisign, Secure, ASIO, Lebed, ICE, NRO, Lexis-Nexis, NSCT, SCIF, FLiR, Lacrosse, Flashbangs, HRT, DIA, USCOI, CID, BOP, FINCEN, FLETC, NIJ, ACC, AFSPC, BMDO, NAVWAN, NRL, RL, NAVWCWPNS, NSWC, USAFA, AHPCRC, ARPA, LABLINK, USACIL, USCG, NRC, ~, CDC, DOE, FMS, HPCC, NTIS, SEL, USCODE, CISE, SIRC, CIM, ISN, DJC, SGC, UNCPCJ, CFC, DREO, CDA, DRA, SHAPE, SACLANT, BECCA, DCJFTF, HALO, HAHO, FKS, 868, GCHQ, DITSA, SORT, AMEMB, NSG, HIC, EDI, SAS, SBS, UDT, GOE, DOE, GEO, Masuda, Forte, AT, GIGN, Exon Shell, CQB, CONUS, CTU, RCMP, GRU, SASR, GSG-9, 22nd SAS, GEOS, EADA, BBE, STEP, Echelon, Dictionary, MD2, MD4, MDA, MYK, 747,777, 767, MI5, 737, MI6, 757, Kh-11, Shayet-13, SADMS, Spetznaz, Recce, 707, CIO, NOCS, Halcon, Duress, RAID, Psyops, grom, D-11, SERT, VIP, ARC, S.E.T. 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That ought to do it. Bite me!

PS: Memo to FCC - Shit, Fuck, God Damn!

aubergine. just sayin'

:think:

Sounds so much more appetizing than "eggplant," doesn't it?

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I guess I missed the memo. Am I using the superseded project X list?

:rofl:

:shrug:

;)

:D

Echelon super secret NSA program in conjunction with the USA's partners in listening around the world.

Echelon allows America along with, New Zealand, Australia and England to intercept private phone calls, emails of both citizens and goverments around the world.

"Chatter: Dispatches from the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping", by Patrick Radden Keefe.

the law of the land, and international laws and treaties by executive order/fiat: it's easier being dictator. :cry:

This is against the law. I have put references to the relevant statute below the fold; the brief version is: the law forbids warrantless surveillance of US citizens, and it provides procedures to be followed in emergencies that do not leave enough time for federal agents to get a warrant. If the NY Times report is correct, the government did not follow these procedures. It therefore acted illegally.

Bush's order is arguably unconstitutional as well: it seems to violate the fourth amendment, and it certainly violates the requirement (Article II, sec. 3) that the President "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."

I am normally extremely wary of talking about impeachment. I think that impeachment is a trauma for the country, and that it should only be considered in extreme cases. Moreover, I think that the fact that Clinton was impeached raises the bar as far as impeaching Bush: two traumas in a row is really not good for the country, and even though my reluctance to go through a second impeachment benefits the very Republicans who needlessly inflicted the first on us, I don't care. It's bad for the country, and that matters most.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_12/007789.php

this country is SCREWED! EVERY Repuke should be calling for IMPEACHMENT. Every damn one of them. Remember during the Clinton debacle???? all we heard was "the rule of law", "the rule of law", "the rule of law", "the rule of law"....NOTHING ELSE MATTERED TO THOSE SOBs but "the rule of law" and NOW they're MUM???? I think not and I want to hear Hagel, McCain, Collins, and Snowe calling for IMPEACHMENT "because nothing in this country is as important as THE RULE OF LAW!"

The law governing clandestine surveillance in the United States, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, prohibits conducting electronic surveillance not authorized by statute. A government agent can try to avoid prosecution if he can show he was "engaged in the course of his official duties and the electronic surveillance was authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order of a court of competent jurisdiction," according to the law.

I'm not a lawyer, but "authorized by statute" seems pretty clear to me.

Impeach the SOB. He went too far a long time ago; this is the 264th last straw...or maybe the 1586th last straw...I quit counting so long ago, it was bad for my blood pressure.