Kennedy: By Going It Alone, The Administration Undermines Our Security

[PhilipShore]

American Chronicle
By Congressional Desk
Kennedy: By Going It Alone, The Administration Undermines Our Security
February 6, 2006

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5527

Washington, DC: Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy questioned Attorney General Gonzales on the Administration’s decision to ignore the law with its NSA domestic surveillance program, thus undercutting our nation’s security. Kennedy, the principal author of FISA, underscored how willing Congress was and is to give the President the necessary tools to fight the war on terror. He believes the Administration’s actions jeopardize current and future cases brought against suspected terrorists who may challenge the legality of the program.

“I’m deeply concerned that the path the Administration is pursuing undermines our national security. By failing to work with Congress to strengthen our laws on wiretapping, we are actually weakening our national security.” Senator Kennedy said. “We know from our history that our nation is strongest when we come together for the sake of our national security. Thirty years ago, we had a Republican President and a Republican Attorney General who understood this. They worked with Congress to develop laws to respond to the grave threat of nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. They understood that national security requires clear laws.”

Kennedy demonstrated how Congress has historically worked with Republican Presidents on national security laws. Attached are documents from the Ford Library detailing 1) Kennedy’s statement on the Administration's desire to have support of "key Senators “ (including Antonin Scalia who was Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel) 2) support of past Attorney Generals for a close collaboration with Congress on national security laws involving wiretapping and 3) the importance of bipartisanship on matters of national security, highlighted by the Administration's efforts to secure the support of Senator Kennedy.

Experts agree that the Bush administration’s defense of its NSA domestic spying program lacks any plausible legal authority. On December 22, 2005, a group of fourteen prominent constitutional experts --- including a former Director of the FBI, a former Deputy Attorney General, a former Acting Solicitor General, two lawyers who worked in the executive branch under President George W. Bush, the Deans or former Deans of Yale, Stanford, and University of Chicago Law Schools, and a prominent conservative scholar and fellow at the Hoover Institution – wrote to Congress expressing their concerns. On January 9, 2006, the group released another letter to Congressional leaders. The letter, which was addressed to Congressional leaders, responds to a December 22 Justice Department letter that sought to offer a legal defense of the program. The experts' letter makes three basic points:...

[lovuian]

1. I hope the Supreme court knows they can be wiretapped too

and all of Congress so thats a open statement...

[LiberalinNC]

2. Not only does it undermine our national security, if * gets away

w/ this, any future president can use this as precedent.

[ClassWarrior]

3. Bingo! It's a weak, paranoid administration** weakening the nation.

The key will be finding clear instances of these freaks** spying on their political enemies. Abuse of power.

NGU.

[Child_Of_Isis]

4. spying on their political enemies

Plus, I bet they spy on their own. For blackmail purposes and to keep them in line.