Friday, December 23, 2005
FISA And Wire Tapping
"[The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] says it's the exclusive law to authorize wiretaps," Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin said. "This administration is playing fast and loose with the law in national security. The issue here is whether the president of the United States is putting himself above the law, and I believe he has done so."
Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, said the president could have gone back to a FISA court after the wiretaps if he was concerned about speed.
"I'm just stunned by the president's rationales with respect to the illegal wiretapping," Reed said. "There are two points that have to be emphasized with respect to the FISA procedure: They're secret, and they're retroactive. "
"There is no situation where time is of such an essence they can't use the FISA proceedings. And so the president's justification, I think, is without merit."
This is the Democratic line on the wire tappings that are be perpetrated by the Bush Administration.
"FISA could not have provided the speed and agility required for the early warning detection system," the Justice Department letter argued.
"Nevertheless I want to stress that the United States makes full use of FISA to address the terrorist threat, and FISA has proven to be a very important tool, especially in longer-term investigations," it said.
There is undeniably an important and legitimate privacy interest at stake," the letter said. "That must be balanced, however, against the government's compelling interest in the security of the nation."
This information came from the letter sent by the Justice Department to Congressional Intellegence leadership. (Assuming that is not a complete oxymoron.)
Of the two arguments I definitely find the former the more compelling. If the CNN article is correct in it's quotes from the letter. Now the letter is a 5-page letter and I haven't seen the entire letter as yet, so I am rather hog-tied by that fact, but I find the basic argument to be the one I have been putting forward over in the discussion we have been having at DovBear.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, said the president could have gone back to a FISA court after the wiretaps if he was concerned about speed.
"I'm just stunned by the president's rationales with respect to the illegal wiretapping," Reed said. "There are two points that have to be emphasized with respect to the FISA procedure: They're secret, and they're retroactive. "
"There is no situation where time is of such an essence they can't use the FISA proceedings. And so the president's justification, I think, is without merit."
This is the Democratic line on the wire tappings that are be perpetrated by the Bush Administration.
"FISA could not have provided the speed and agility required for the early warning detection system," the Justice Department letter argued.
"Nevertheless I want to stress that the United States makes full use of FISA to address the terrorist threat, and FISA has proven to be a very important tool, especially in longer-term investigations," it said.
There is undeniably an important and legitimate privacy interest at stake," the letter said. "That must be balanced, however, against the government's compelling interest in the security of the nation."
This information came from the letter sent by the Justice Department to Congressional Intellegence leadership. (Assuming that is not a complete oxymoron.)
Of the two arguments I definitely find the former the more compelling. If the CNN article is correct in it's quotes from the letter. Now the letter is a 5-page letter and I haven't seen the entire letter as yet, so I am rather hog-tied by that fact, but I find the basic argument to be the one I have been putting forward over in the discussion we have been having at DovBear.
// posted by Little Wolf @ Friday, December 23, 2005 
