Typical is Prof. Peter Shane of the University of Ohio law school, told us, “Bush's position is senseless.” He said, “First, Congress has been willing to extend the PAA on a short-term basis in its current form. So any lapse in the availability of PAA authority cannot be attributed to Congress. Second, retroactive immunity has nothing to do with the authority of the executive branch going forward. It is simply an effort to make sure that lawsuits are not used to unearth the full scope of possible Bush Administration lawlessness in conducting its so-called terrorist surveillance program.”
His view is echoed by Clayton Northouse, Information Policy Analyst for OMB Watch, a Washington-based open-government research group. Northouse told us, “Since day one, the administration has used the guise of national security to unilaterally increase the power of the Executive. This exposes the administration’s position as a blatant power grab. The letter from senior intelligence officials shows us that the Bush administration isn’t upset because the country is weakened by the House’s decision not to reauthorize PAA and grant telecom immunity. Rather, the administration is upset because they may not be able to avoid the oversight and approval of the legislative and judicial branches.”
And by Georgetown law professor David Cole, one of the nation’s preeminent Constitutional scholars. He told us: “The Bush administration has only itself to blame if there were any national security consequences from the sunsetting of the Protect America Act, as the Democrats were willing to extend the sunset until a workable compromise on permanent legislation could be worked out. If the Bush administration's national security claims are to be believed, then, it is the administration that has decided to play a game of chicken with our security. In fact, all taps authorized under the PAA will continue in place, and FISA permits the administration to place new taps on any newly identified terrorist, so there is no national security risk presented.”
But how about the poor telecom companies?
Well, the question we put to Prof. Cole was this: “Wouldn't you think someone in the army of telecom lawyers understood that what the president was asking them to do was illegal and in violation of the FISA statute?”
His answer couldn’t have been more Gary Cooperish:
“Yup.”
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