Attorney General: Bush blocked eavesdropping probe

News today coming out of CNN. Alberto Gonzolas the President "personally blocked"
The Justice departments investigation of the Warrentless Wiretaps of Americans Phone and Emails, when terrorism is suspected.

Attorney General: Bush blocked eavesdropping probe

Tuesday, July 18, 2006; Posted: 11:53 a.m. EDT (15:53 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless eavesdropping program that monitors Americans' international calls and e-mails when terrorism is suspected.

The department's Office of Professional Responsibility announced earlier this year it could not pursue an investigation into the role of Justice lawyers in crafting the program, under which the National Security Agency intercepts some telephone calls and e-mail without court approval.

At the time, the office said it could not obtain security clearance to examine the classified program.

Under sharp questioning from Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, Gonzales said that Bush would not grant the access needed to allow the probe to move forward.

source.CNN.com

First thing that grabbed my attention was that this only mentions the International phone and E-mails.. it says nothing at all about the Broad call tracking and monitoring by the NSA with the major phone companies.

Anyway, that point aside, I dont really know what to make of this. The US Justice Department should have no trouble acquiring the necc. clearance to continue this investigation. The only reason I can think that Bush would personally intervene is if the Administration(once again) has dipped thier alittle too deep into the cookie jar of power and knows it. Hence, using National Security as a shield to protect they're illegal activities.

"The president of the United States makes the decision," Gonzales told the committee hearing, during which he was strongly criticized on a range of national security issues by Specter and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the panel's senior Democrat.

After all He is the "DECIDER"

I guess it will take another SC decision to reopen the Justice Departments request to do their job

Last week, under a deal with Specter, Bush agreed conditionally to a court review of his antiterror eavesdropping operations.

Conditionally? anyway the court he will submit to(and mind you, this is only for the International phone and Emials) is :

Under the deal with Specter, the president agreed to support a bill that could submit the program to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a constitutional review.

Last week, Gonzales said the bill gives Bush the option of submitting the NSA program to the intelligence court, rather than requiring the review.

Well gee wizz if that where he is going to let the courts review his program..... Then, why the hell did he not just do that in the first place?
Maybe hes doing it now because he got caught overstretching his authority(again) and is trying to clean it up nice and neat. This of course in hopes to let this blow over and stop the JD from finding out that he in fact DID overstep his authority..aka... break the law.

This was nothing of a surprised after all he was next to Bush as a decider with the writing on the patriot act.

He also was next to bush when they decided to bring prisoners to Guantanamo so they could not get Geneva convention rights.

He has been covering his butt and Bush butt all alone.

Now that Bush is in his last term is OK to put some distance between Bush and himself, after all we don't know if he is looking for a more higher up political career.

This is a perfect example of how to bring news articles to PTS, TONE23, thanks!

The executive branch is out of control at this point; it is actively testing and seeking ways to get congress to legislate around its constitutional limits (an impossibility of course; legislating around the constitutional constraints on executive authority is indeed a "fig leaf").

It's time for the SCOTUS to grow a backbone, and fast. There needs to be an active search for people in circumstances to bring actual cases against as many parts of this executive putsch as possible so that we can have this nonsense put within its proper constitutional context quickly.

A key part of this needs to be that in any case where Alberto Gonzalez fails to obey a law due to a signing statement, the SCOTUS needs to issue a Writ of Mandamus compelling him to do his job, and while they are at it making it absolutely clear that signing statements, executive orders, and other such instruments have no legal weight, and that to obey them in contradiction of the law makes the actor subject to prosecution for the violation. In other words, they need to fire one across this administrations bow, then put Alb G. in prison next time.

(PS, I consider this taking it easy on Bush, so nothing from the peanut gallery please.)

original quote by: The Vagabond
This is a perfect example of how to bring news articles to PTS, TONE23, thanks!

Thanks, I was going to submit it to ATSNN, but was afraid that It wouldnt have been accepted.

original quote by: The Vagabond
The executive branch is out of control at this point; it is actively testing and seeking ways to get congress to legislate around its constitutional limits

Your right, of course. It is as if the Administration is trying to see how much they can get away with before anyone notices. Have you noticed that the Administration has actively been on both: a campaign of propoganda(complete with disinformation firms and disinfo agents-maybe even a couple here at ATS); a campaign to quelch informtation. Example: The NYTimes was first asked to not do this original story(international phone taps and E-Mails) for over a year. Originally the NYTimes was going to air the story around.. ohh I dont know... election time 2004. The Administration told the NYTimes to "hold off" on the story for a year!

original quote by: The Vagabond
It's time for the SCOTUS to grow a backbone, and fast. There needs to be an active search for people in circumstances to bring actual cases against as many parts of this executive putsch as possible so that we can have this nonsense put within its proper constitutional context quickly.

That is something that, apparently, the Administration already planned on. Hence, the Two nominations. As you are aware the SCOTUS is now leaning decidedly towards the Administration. It was a mild suprise that the SCOTUS did admonish the Administration for the War Crimes Tribunal. So maybe, just maybe, the SCOTUS is starting to wake up.

original quote by: The Vagabond
making it absolutely clear that signing statements, executive orders, and other such instruments have no legal weight

This is the part that that I fail to understand. How can an Executive Order, Signing Statement, etc.. have any legal weight if it is in contradiction to the Constitution, or standing law. From a Constitutional perspective it has been argued that we needed the WPA(War Powers Act of 1973) because the Framers didnt take into account War time when writing the Constitution and Bill of Rights. But I say this country was founded on war and that the Founding Fathers(FF) knew all too well that there would be wars always. They did not include a provision for war time because, to me, they did not think that war should trump the Constitution.

Another point that Ive noticed is the fact that: There is a concerted effort by the Beltwy and the MSM to keep all of these problems seperate(International wiretaps, NSA Domestic tracking of millions of Americans calls, Bank monitoring, Manipulation of the press, etc...). When in reality they are all connected(yes the obvious connection is that they are linked to the WOT. But either this Administration has been overzealous in its quest to catch "terrorists"; or they are overly opportunistic in the aftermath of 911, or they are at least partly complicit in the WOT and 911(I am going with the thrid) This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
Ive said this since I first learned about the JFK conspiracy in '88(I was 15): After killing Kennedy and getting away with it.. the Goverment knew it could pull off Project Northwoods(Thread by mrwupy)

Orwell, it seems, was more science, than fiction.