March 10, 2006 at 13:57:52

Oversight by Capitulation

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By Robert Parry (about the author) Page 2 of 3 page(s)

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Bush has insisted that the wiretaps are limited to the international communications of people in the United States who have gotten calls from al-Qaeda or its affiliates.

Newspaper investigations, however, indicate the spying is much more extensive than Bush has admitted. The New York Times and the Washington Post have reported that the wiretapping by the National Security Agency has scooped up communications from thousands of innocent Americans. [See Consortiumnews.com's �Talkin' Texan Means Lyin' Big.�]

Investigation Blocked

Congressional Democrats have called for an investigation to ascertain the scope of the warrantless wiretaps before addressing the administration's assertion that the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act doesn't give the nation's spy agencies the flexibility they need.

But congressional Republicans and the White House torpedoed plans for an investigation and instead began drafting legislation that would effectively endorse Bush's claim to an unfettered right to bypass the Fourth Amendment's requirement of a court order before a legal search can be conducted.

The new legislation, sponsored by Sen. DeWine, would permit the N.S.A. to intercept international phone calls and e-mails of U.S. residents if the administration saw �probable cause to believe that one party to the communication is a member, affiliate, or working in support of a terrorist group or organization.� [NYT, March 9, 2006]

After 45 days, the law would require the Attorney General to take one of three steps: end the wiretap, get a warrant from the secret FISA court, or inform the new oversight panels about the wiretap.

White House spokesman Dana Perino said the administration was willing to give the new seven-member panels information about the wiretaps but that the members would be prohibited from divulging what they learn. [Washington Post, March 9, 2006]

Congressional Democrats have criticized the DeWine plan as insufficient to prevent violations of civil liberties.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Congress first needed to exercise its responsibility to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch.

�It is 'undersight' when they tell us what they want us to know,� Rockefeller told the Washington Post. �It's 'oversight' when we know enough to ask our own questions.�

However, with hard-line Republicans like Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas joining with more moderate Republicans like Snowe and Hagel, the Democrats appear to have been out-flanked and out-muscled again.

A similar process occurred in December 2005 when Congress passed legislation outlawing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody. But an amendment, promoted by Graham and co-sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., limited legal appeals that Guantanamo Bay inmates could make in U.S. courts.

Bush administration lawyers have since gone into federal court, citing the Graham-Levin amendment to prevent Guantanamo detainees from stopping alleged torture. In other words, the anti-torture law is being interpreted as granting Bush the sole right to decide how to interpret its provisions and when to enforce them. [For details, see Consortiumnews.com's �Bush Flummoxes Kafka, Orwell.�]

The legislation on warrantless wiretaps now promises to be the next White House �concession� that will, in reality, consolidate Bush's autocratic power in what looks like an inexorable march toward an end of the American democratic Republic.

Originally published at (c) www.consortiumnews.com

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Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at more...)

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