Kerry Calls for Indepen Counsel to Investigate Bush Warrentless Wiretaps

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Calls for Independent Counsel to Investigate Bush Warrentless Wiretaps
January 22nd, 2006

John Kerry was on "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, this morning. He spoke against Bush's warrantless wiretaps, calling them "a clear violation of the law."

Kerry said "that the administration has made no effort to consult Congress about any possible alteration to the law that he says restricts the wiretaps — the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA," and called for a special counsel and independent investigation into the matter.

In the interview John Kerry announced his intent to vote against Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. when the vote goes to the Senate floor this week. Kerry missed most of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings during an overseas tour of India, Pakistan, Iraq and Kuwait. He told Stephanopoulos that Alito would take the country "backwards."

When asked about "outside criticism that his Democratic colleagues may have focused on relatively inconsequential issues during the hearings," Kerry said, "That is certainly the criticism I have heard."

The discussion moved on to Osama bin Laden and Kerry repeated his belief that "the White House failed to commit the proper resources to capture Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora in Afghanistan." He also chastised Karl Rove for "continuing to make the war on terror a priority political issue" in his recent speech to fire up the GOP base for the 2006 elections.

Speaking of the Bush administration's efforts in the war on terror and the failure to capture Osama bin Laden, Kerry said, "Osama Bin Laden is going to die of kidney failure before he's killed by Karl Rove and his crowd."

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1715

[Greeby]

1. So at least 44 is listening to 43

:bounce:

[peacetalksforall]

2. Good for him, but here we go - 'wiretaps' - wrong terminology. Call it

what it is - this is not a telephone spy hanging off a telephone pole or splicing or anything they've done in the past - this is spying by every technoclogical means possible - the right wing is going to try to spread the word that the law only applies to wires. Please pass the word. The word is SPYING NOT WIRETAPPING.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Well, there's a quote I'll be using again...

[kerrygoddess]

4. Great quote isn't it! N/T

[IndianaGreen]

10. Yep, that's a very good quote

and it is the sort of language that we need more of from leading Democrats.

[MH1]

11. I love that line. And the pic, too! n/t

[samhsarah]

12. That was great, wasn't it!!!

President Kerry made me proud!!!:kick:

[Dr Fate]

5. heh- heh- Great stuff. All valid points from Kerry. n/t

n/t

[AtomicKitten]

6. Finally someone echoing Al Gore's call for a special prosecutor.

I knew if we continued to poke it with a stick there would be life yet in the Democratic Party.

[Usrename]

22. This type of neuroreflex has also been obseved in dead things.

Just saying, why poke it with a stick? Wait and see if they will even be a speed bump for the Alito nomination. Even a cadaver can be used as a speed bump.

[politicasista]

7. kick and nominated!

Go Kerry! :kick:

[sarcasmo]

8. Kick and Nom hire Fitz for the Independent Counsel.

[AtomicKitten]

9. Fitzgerald would be a brilliant choice as special prosecutor. n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

33. Good choice

I'd trust him for sure to do the job. Even dear Bush praised him once so he can't wiggle out of that.

[Catchawave]

13. Go John....

...we can rise above investigating the First Penis :hi: Or can we? Sorry, I'm a little fuzzy on the Congressional rulez about protecting Amerikka (snork)

[kentuck]

14. I support Kerry. We need an independent counsel...

And if the Republicans want to show they are serious about doing something about these "ethical" lapses, then they must agree with a special counsel also.

[tuvor]

15. "Karl Rove and his crowd"--LOL

A not-too-subtle dig at bush the figurehead.

[EVDebs]

16. The Senate should also debate the Iraq War Resolution

since it contradicts the War Powers Act of 1973 by abdicating to Bush whether the circumstances, situations and essential 'clarity' of the war are indeed truthful or not ! Incredibly, the WPA of 1973 requires TRUTHFUL conditions prior to going to war...who'd have thunk it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2382761

[ProSense]

17. JK: That's a lie.. and there is a legal way

Lawmakers seek review of eavesdropping rules
By Joanne Kenen
1 hour, 25 minutes ago

Snip...

Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, who endorsed former Vice President Al Gore's call for an independent investigation of the Bush program, said on ABC's "This Week" that some Republicans like Bush adviser Karl Rove are trying to equate Democratic opposition to warrantless spying as weakness.

"What he's (Rove) trying to pretend is somehow Democrats don't want to eavesdrop appropriately to protect the country. That's a lie," Kerry said. "We're prepared to eavesdrop wherever and whenever necessary in order to make America safer."

'THERE IS A WAY'

But Kerry said the spying has to be legal and constitutional and if Bush needs the law to be changed, "then come to us and tell us. ... There is a way to protect the Constitution and not go off on your own and violate it."

Other prominent Democratic senators including Dick Durbin of Illinois, Charles Schumer of New York and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut made similar comments about re-examining the breadth and modernity of FISA in television interviews a few days after Rove urged Republicans to campaign on national security and the war on terror.


more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060122/pl_nm/security_eavesdropping_dc

[senaca]

24. An interestin article on what constitutional scholars think of NSA spying

This may have been posted before but it brings up constitutional cases that support why what the NSA spying may be illegal. It's a letter to congress by Constitutional scholars.

http://Nybooks.com/article:/18650

[Dr Fate]

39. RUH-ROH- The "L" BOMB!!!

Rove a "liar?"

Any Bush defenders care to express "outrage" over Kerry's blunt statement??

Any GOP takers on splitting hairs over what a "lie" is?

Keep telling the blunt truth, John- they will take the bait soon enough.

[LittleClarkie]

40. According to one of Kerrygoddess' threads

The GOP is having a hissy fit over the appearance.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2384862&mesg_id=2384862

[autorank]

18. Now that's a BOLD move. Thank you Sen. Kerry & kerrygoddess

RECOMMENDED

[Usrename]

23. Yes, such decisiveness is rare from him.

He only waited a week after Al Gore's speech to come out with this. Much more reactive than the usual year or two with his finger in the air measuring which way the wind will blow. And to call for investigations of illegal conduct where the crimal has made public video taped confessions, well that truly takes courage.

[karynnj]

25. He said in December that it was illegal

in radio interviews with Press, Shultz, and Bendar? (AAR - Christmas day broadcast). Kerry also backed Gore last week on a Blitzer interview that Kerry did from Israel. (He's been in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and India - as part of his job on the SRFC. He has done an excellent job representing the US or would you prefer they see on;t Rice and Cheney?

This is not a contest of who can say what fastest or make the most aggressive statements. Be happy that both Gore and Kerry and several other Democrats are speaking of this. Why not support those speaking out. Even now, the RW is trying to frame this as the Democrats would trade away security and have in some comments tried to morph the question from spying without warrants to data mining. Data mining has it's problems which in the Commerce committee hearings Kerry addressed in a way that fired up Senators as to the privacy issues.

We should be backing all that speak out and working to keep the issue clear and clean cut.

[Usrename]

26. Shhh.... please pretend that you don't notice it.

An excerpt from A Prayer For America by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Feb. 2002.

"Let us pray that our nation will remember that the unfolding of the promise of democracy in our nation paralleled the striving for civil rights. That is why we must challenge the rationale of the Patriot Act. We must ask, why should America put aside guarantees of constitutional justice?

How can we justify in effect canceling the First Amendment and the right of free speech, the right to peaceably assemble?

How can we justify in effect canceling the Fourth Amendment, probable cause, the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure?

How can we justify in effect canceling the Fifth Amendment, nullifying due process, and allowing for indefinite incarceration without a trial?

How can we justify in effect canceling the Sixth Amendment, the right to prompt and public trial?

How can we justify in effect canceling the Eighth Amendment which protects against cruel and unusual punishment?"

Shhh... maybe no one will notice...

[blm]

28. As you failed to notice?

I am also guessing that you never knew that Kerry and Sununu drafted and submitted legislation in Dec 2003 to overturn parts of the Patriot Act that were proving to be unnecessarily onerous against civil rights.

Sununu then brought along a few other Rs to help vote against renewal of Patriot Act last go-round, in case you didn't notice.

Sh....must maintain false image of Kerry.....David Horowitz is watching.

[Usrename]

30. I thought Fiengold was the only one to vote against it.

My bad. Ignore me. I'm having a particularly dark day. The question really is, will they throw the rotting corpse of the party in front of the Alito nomination to produce even a speed bump? I am perfectly willing to move on, but I do care deeply about what we have done and where we are definitely heading.

[blm]

31. The original Patriot Act, yes. The renewal, NO. It was defeated in the

Senate thanks to a few Repubs who joined the Dems.

[Sejanus]

35. Patriot Act

I didn't think it was defeated but rather filibustered. Am I wrong?

[Usrename]

36. Your right, but I think it's a dead horse.

Now they are supposed to argue in the Senate that they need it while the Administration argues in court that they don't need it?

I think it is supposed to come back up next month. But we have moved so far past that. Don't you see.

[blm]

37. You're right. Filibustered.

.

[blm]

27. You didn't follow Kerry's DSM letter? Petition to fire Rove? Rumsfeld?

His Iraq withdrawal plan last October? His Katrina legislation? Children's universal healthcare legislation? His amendment against secret CIA jails?

Where were the other Dems then? Were THEY sticking their fingers up to see what was flying and was the other half so uninformed they claim Kerry wasn't even doing anything all last year.

[kerrygoddess]

19. There's more here...

The RNC’s in a Tizzy over John Kerry’s “This Week” Interview
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1718

[Bluesplayer]

20. Where was this Kerry?

in the final months of the campaign? He was great on this show!

[blm]

29. Editting room floor of newsrooms all across corporate America.

Many of those points he also made during the debates, but media refused to discuss the import of his words.

[Sparkly]

21. I love the entire quote!

"You know, Osama bin Laden is going to die of kidney failure before he's killed by Karl Rove and his crowd," Kerry said. "We're prepared to eavesdrop wherever and whenever necessary in order to make America safer. But we need to put a procedure in place to protect the constitutional rights of Americans."

Those last two sentences say it all. The GOP keeps trying to twist it into a discussion of whether or not eavesdropping is necessary to track real threats; so I'd like to hear all Democrats say it the way Kerry did every time the issue is discussed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060123/ap_on_go_co/terror_politics;_ylt=Ah1gvIYDpO6YXo76tE_rUoys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-

[FreedomAngel82]

32. Yes

No whitewashing!

[LeftyLizzie]

34. This is great!

Kick! :kick:

[kerrygoddess]

38. Video's of yesterday's interview!

I've got a new piece on JK's interview yesterday here - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1723

There's a link to a video quip that Crooks&Liars had up and also a link to what appears to be the full video from BradBlog.