John Kerry Demands Full Explanation of Contradictory Wiretapping Statement

John Kerry Demands Full Explanation of Bush's Contradictory Wiretapping Statements
December 20th, 2005

John Kerry called Bush on his contradictory statements regarding wiretaps and demands a full explanation. As I reported earlier, Diane Feinstein and a bipartisan group of Senators are seeking a joint Judiciary-Intelligence inquiry into domestic spying. Kerry slammed Bush earlier today, calling his excuses “lame“, in an interview with reporters after addressing ironworkers at a local labor hall.

Kerry released the following statement a short time ago, regarding Bush’s blatant contradictions on wiretapping:

“Repeated statements by the President and the Vice President that wiretapping required a court order no doubt were designed to leave the impression with Americans that the government wasn’t authorizing the wiretapping of our own citizens without any warrant or oversight by a court. Now Americans know the truth, and they are owed a full explanation. Congress needs a full accounting and real oversight, not executive power run amok without checks and balances and Congress kept in the dark. Americans deserve an honest debate, not more misleading talk, not another public relations offensive when our security and our constitutional rights hang in the balance.”

Bush Then
Bush: Wiretaps “Require a Court Order.” “Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.”

Bush Yesterday
Bush: I Authorized Secret Wiretap Program Without Going Through the Courts. “To save American lives, we must be able to act fast and to detect these conversations so we can prevent new attacks. So, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, I authorized the interception of international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. … This program has targeted those with known links to al Qaeda. I’ve reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks, and I intend to do so for so long as our nation is — for so long as the nation faces the continuing threat of an enemy that wants to kill American citizens.”

LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1471

Didn't a DUer come up with this quote from Bush last night or early this morning?

And now it's everywhere!

(Not that I mind Kerry or any Dem mining DU for good stuff. It's what we're here for!)

:thumbsup:

earlier post today.

,

He did Iran/Contra and BCCI so I'm sure he'll do this too!

The first quote was taken from a discussion regarding the Patriot Act and what the Constitutional protections are under that act.

The second quote is when Bush was recently talking about NSA interceptions of communications that has been going on for much longer than the Patriot Act has been around.

Just taking apples and oranges and trying to make them appear to be the same and it is getting beat down around us today.

That is why in many opinions this NSA issue is like beating a dead horse. Clinton used it, Bush Sr used it.

If Bush SR and Bill Clinton did it too - it's still wrong. (Would you mom have accepted the excuse that Bill and George did it too?)

In both cases, Bush is talking about wire taps - saying he needs a warrant then saying he doesn't. Kerry's saying his interpretation of the law is they do.

if it happened why didn't they impeach him for that? They would have if he did do it and he would've gone to jail. Give me a break.

They NEVER would have let Clinton get away with it, and they would have discovered it if he was. If the best they could come up with after all that investigation was a blowjob, then my guess he wasn't doing anything even remotely as egregious as this.

Both quotes were about wiretapping Americans. In no way does any President have the authority to override the Constitution and Bush* himself was very clear about it..Why not override the 2nd Amendment as well???? It is within his power you suggest...

Bush is vindictive and mean, and not even as smart as his father.

That's the difference. Every other President used the court the way they were supposed to. Bush went completely outside ALL oversight, time after time. They say they have the authority to do that under the Afghanistan war authorization. This is NOT the same as Clinton or Poppy. If you don't understand why, then the least you could do is just get out of the way for those who do.

"Mr. Bush, Mr. Gonzales and Lt. Gen. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the nation's second-ranking intelligence official and a former director of the National Security Agency, which conducted the surveillance, stepped around questions about why officials decided not to use emergency powers they have under the existing foreign surveillance law. The law allows them to tap international communications of people in the United States and then go to a secret court up to 72 hours later for retroactive permission."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/politics/20spy.html?pagewanted=2

Are you purposely trying to sound like Ronald Reagan? You are sooooooooooo wrong on your post. For one thing, the neocon talking points, that "Bush the 1st, and Clinton both did it, have already been PROVED WRONG on TV,(Wolf Blitzer) and it was mentioned on one of earlier threads. You are not going to score many points around here using Repub "spin" in your posts!:hi: But welcome any way. Hope you get to stick around.

in other post's. They don't care that Bush broke the law and admitted to it. He should be in jail now instead of being snug in his bed. :mad:

Everyone:

Please send the below to your Congressmen and Senators (and newspapers) and ask them if they could please take the time to fill in the blanks.

Write your Congressman here:
http://www.house.gov/writerep /

Look up and write your Senators here:
http://www.senate.gov /

It is surprising how little editing was required to go from the original Richard Nixon Articles of Impeachment to the below. It only took about 10 minutes.

http://watergate.info/impeachment/impeachment-articles ....

Doug De Clue
Orlando, FL

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Articles of Impeachment Adopted by the Committee on the Judiciary

Date:______________

Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

RESOLVED, That George W. Bush, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanours, and that the following articles of impeachment to be exhibited to the Senate:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE NAME OF ITSELF AND OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AGAINST GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF ITS IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOURS.

Article 1

In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his consitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice, in that:

On or about December 17, 2005, and prior thereto, agents of the National Security Agency on orders of George W. Bush committed unlawful warrentless wiretaps against thousands of American citizens inside the United States in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (USC Title 50 Chapter 36 Subchapter 1), and in engaged in a conspiracy with him to commit an offense against the United States in violation of USC TITLE 18 PART I CHAPTER 19 § 371. Prior thereto, George W. Bush, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his close subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede, and obstruct the investigation of such illegal activities; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful covert activities in violation of USC TITLE 18 PART I CHAPTER 73 § 1512 paragraph (b).

The means used to implement this course of conduct or plan included one or more of the following: issuing Executive Orders contrary to United States Code, making false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States; withholding relevant and material evidence or information from lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States; approving, condoning, acquiescing in, and counselling witnesses with respect to the giving of false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States and false or misleading testimony in duly instituted judicial and congressional proceedings; interfering or endeavouring to interfere with the conduct of investigations by the Department of Justice of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Congressional Committees; endeavouring to misuse the National Security Agency, an agency of the United States; and making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements.

In all of this, George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George W. Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

Adopted ____ to ____ by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, at __________________________________, in Room ______ of the _____________ Office Building, Washington D.C.

Article 2

Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in disregard of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, impairing the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purposed of these agencies.

This conduct has included one or more of the following:

He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavoured to obtain from the National Security Agency, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, the contents of private phone calls for purposes not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, criminal investigations to be intitiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.

He misused the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and other executive personnel, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of citizens, by directing or authorizing such agencies or personnel to conduct or continue electronic surveillance or other investigations for purposes not authorized by law, or any lawful function of his office; he did direct, authorize, or permit the use of information obtained thereby; and he did direct the concealment of certain records made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency of electronic surveillance.

He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of citizens, authorized and permitted to be maintained a secret investigative unit within the offices of the Department of Defense, which unlawfully utilized the resources of the government, and engaged in covert and unlawful activities to unlawfully gather intelligence in violation of domestic prohibitions.

He has failed to take care that the laws were faithfully executed by failing to act when he knew or had reason to know that his close subordinates endeavoured to impede and frustrate lawful inquiries by duly constituted executive, judicial and legislative entities concerning the unlawful naming of a covert operative of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the cover-up thereof.

In disregard of the rule of law, he knowingly misused the executive power by interfering with agencies of the executive branch, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, in violation of his duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

In all of this, George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore George W. Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.


Adopted ____ to ____ by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.


Article 3

In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, George W. Bush, contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has through the use of often-secret Justice Department findings, substituted his own judgment for that of the courts assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the proper exercise of the judicial power vested by the Article III of the Constitution in the Supreme Court and the lower Courts established by Congress.

In all of this, George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, George W. Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

Adopted ____ to ____ by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

regarding "The dems/congress approved it"... excuse

it was mentioned that it seems to be the "excuse du jour" to justify everything when an issue gets too hot....

bubble-boy had recently said Congress got the same intelligence regarding Iraq/WMDs

and now same excuse for wire-tap

reminds me of when I was a kid and wanted something - I would say "but Mom, everyone else has one...."

her response "I don't care if everyone else wears their underwear on their heads - you not!"

Brownie was approved by Dems.

The war was approved by Dems.

The wiretap was approved by Dems.

Yep. They ARE using it over and over.

"But... but... the Dems SAID I could!"

What a child.