WP Editorial: Wiretap Surrender, Specter's bill is capitulation

[Rose Siding]

Sen. Specter's bill on NSA surveillance is a capitulation to administration claims of executive power.

SENATE JUDICIARY Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has cast his agreement with the White House on legislation concerning the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance as a compromise -- one in which President Bush accepts judicial review of the program. It isn't a compromise, except quite dramatically on the senator's part. Mr. Specter's bill began as a flawed but well-intentioned effort to get the program in front of the courts, but it has been turned into a green light for domestic spying. It must not pass.

...The bill's most dangerous language would effectively repeal FISA's current requirement that all domestic national security surveillance take place under its terms.
...
This bill is not a compromise but a full-fledged capitulation on the part of the legislative branch to executive claims of power. Mr. Specter has not been briefed on the NSA's program. Yet he's proposing revolutionary changes to the very fiber of the law of domestic surveillance -- changes not advocated by key legislators who have detailed knowledge of the program. This week a remarkable congressional debate began on how terrorists should face trial, with Congress finally asserting its role in reining in overbroad assertions of presidential power. What a tragedy it would be if at the same time, it acceded to those powers on the fundamental rights of Americans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071401578.html

boo-yah, WaPo. How'd they ever work up to that? :wow:

[MissWaverly]

1. I can't believe my eyes

the Washington Post is speaking up against Specter green light to growing secrecy over
unauthorized govt. snooping, has the ghost of watergate come back to whisper abuse
of executive privilege in their ears. HMMMMM!

[Blutodog]

34. King George Redux

One of the major reasons for the War of independence was the abuse by the King of Colonial's privacy. The King's agents with no writs or warrants could simply smash down a colonial citizens door and enter. That's why we have the 4th amendment to Constitution to stop this kind of Executive arrogance. It seems though that 250 yrs. later a new King George has decided enough with this bedrock princple of our country because it limits his thirst for un-limited power. Unfortunately, we now have a Congress of this man's same party willing to give him what amounts to a Dictatorship. Contrast how this Congress has treated A GOP president to the previous President with whom they eagerily Impeached for a Sexual daliance in the WH! It appears that we are all to believe that a Blow Job is more destructive to the Nat'l security then the willful destruction of the very document the present occupant swore to uphold. These are dangerous times for the Republic.

[MissWaverly]

35. I do so agree

these are not honest people, they have one scheme after another to gain more power or to
exert their will over others

[seafan]

2. I am shocked to see this in the WP.

Page A20 is too far away from the main page to suit me, though. Dip those toes into that black, putrid *Co water, WP. The people are waiting.

Thanks for posting this, Rose Siding.

[cornermouse]

3. We can only assume that Specter intends this bill to be a major

part of his legacy to the American people.

[bearfan454]

21. You mean like the magic bullet theory he came up with

on the Warren Commission?

[Independent_Liberal]

4. GOP: Won't stop until democracy is completely destroyed!

Must turn this country into Communist Russia at all costs. You heard me!

:grr:

[gordianot]

5. Specter has been called the GOP version of Lieberman Not True

He makes noise but almost always capitulates to his GOP masters.

[bearfan454]

22. You got that right.

He always brings up an issue the pukes are shitting on us with and then by the time he's done it spins back their way to say it is okay. Fuck that shit.

[FuzzyDicePHL]

30. Always.

Always is right. Specter only stands up to bullshit initially; he always backs down. Always.

[femrap]

29. I believe that is his agreed on role...he creates a

bit of stir to defend Democracy and then, as planned, gives in to the neocons.

They think we're that stupid....unfortunately many Americans are....or too busy watching American Idol or working 3 jobs.

Living in St. Petersburg, Russia looks less authoritarian than here.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. Was there ever really a doubt?

THere are DUers that hold out some misplaced trust and hope for these bastards. Specter isn't on your side. He is a bullshit dismantle-the-new-deal-motherfucker. He is shit and deserves being treated as such at all times.
The only saving grace to this whole sorry pile of shit is that the NSA is totally incapable of doing 99% of all the shit the have been hyped up to be able to do, so most of this is meaningless anyway & they know it.

[chill_wind]

12. Less than totally capable right now, maybe.

Although I've read that the budget for TIA, supposedly killed by Congress (hah!)and parts of its ops are now shuttled over to and quietly operating under NSA.

But the sweeping language and the power it gives and the intent here is anything but "meaningless"!

[bearfan454]

23. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Your post is very true.

[chill_wind]

25. As to what I read, that the congressionially outlawed TIA lives on--

NSA spy program hinges on state-of-the-art technology

January 20, 2006
By Shane Harris, National Journal
(...)

When Congress eliminated funding for most of Poindexter's projects, a number of them (the exact number is classified) were transferred to intelligence agencies. Armour and others associated with TIA would not disclose the names of those agencies, but a former Army intelligence analyst also involved in data mining and counter-terrorism confirms that TIA tools were transferred to other agencies, where work on them continues to this day.

Asked whether data-mining programs, such as NIMD, that the NSA may still be pursuing would be useful for analyzing large amounts of phone and e-mail traffic, Armour said, "Absolutely. That's, in fact, what the interest is." The former No. 2 official in Poindexter's office, Robert Popp, said that he and his colleagues wanted to know whether intercepted phone calls and e-mail would help find terrorists but not ensnare innocent people. "We didn't know," Popp said. "That was the hypothesis. That was the question that Poindexter and I wanted to do research on, to be better able to understand."

The similarities between TIA and the NSA's current data-mining operations were enough to prompt one senior lawmaker to signal his discomfort in a letter to Vice President Cheney. Sen. Jay Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was briefed by Cheney, Hayden, and then-Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet in July 2003.

"As I reflected on the meeting today," Rockefeller wrote, "John Poindexter's TIA project sprung to mind, exacerbating my concern regarding the direction the administration is moving with regard to security, technology, and surveillance."

(...)

much more:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0106/012006nj1.htm

see also

Controversial counter-terror program lives on
By Shane Harris, National Journal
February 23, 2006

A controversial counter-terrorism program, which lawmakers halted more than two years ago amid outcries from privacy advocates, was stopped in name only and has quietly continued within the intelligence agency now fending off charges that it has violated the privacy of U.S. citizens.

Research under the Defense Department's Total Information Awareness program -- which developed technologies to predict terrorist attacks by mining government databases and the personal records of people in the United States -- was moved from the Pentagon's research-and-development agency to another group, which builds technologies primarily for the National Security Agency, according to documents obtained by National Journal and to intelligence sources familiar with the move.

full article: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0206/022306sh1.htm

[struggle4progress]

7. Vintage Arlen.

[ejbr]

8. These mother fuckers

are DARING us!! Well folks, it looks like we need to have another American revolution. Now where's my powdered wig? I AM PISSED!:mad:

[chill_wind]

9. It's more than capitulation- it is expansively evil! Read this part again:

(...)

It would also, in various places, insert Congress's acknowledgment that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans. Any reasonable court looking at this bill would understand it as withdrawing the nearly three-decade-old legal insistence that FISA is the exclusive legitimate means of spying on Americans. It would therefore legitimize whatever it is the NSA is doing -- and a whole lot more.

Allowing the administration to seek authorization from the courts for an "electronic surveillance program" is almost as dangerous. The FISA court today grants warrants for individual surveillance when the government shows evidence of espionage or terrorist ties. Under this bill, the government could get permission for long-term programs involving large numbers of innocent individuals with only a showing that the program is, in general, legal and that it is "reasonably designed" to capture the communications of "a person reasonably believed to have communication with" a foreign power or terrorist group.

The bill even makes a hash out of the generally reasonable idea of transferring existing litigation to the FISA court system. It inexplicably permits the FISA courts to "dismiss a challenge to the legality of an electronic surveillance program for any reason" -- such as, say, the eye color of one of the attorneys.

(...)

Ironfisted authority, people!

[bbgrunt]

10. K and R.

[w4rma]

11. Specter has always been all talk. (nt)

[amb123]

13. TREASON! TREASON! TREASON!

GEORGE WALKER BUSH, I'D RATHER DIE BEFORE I OBEY YOU!

[chill_wind]

14. We better not be seeing any "pragmatic" Dem capitulation.

This is freaking UNAMERICAN!!

If this is not worth a fight on both hindlegs no matter what, then we are finished.

This kind of proposed authoritarian power in other parts of the world would go by a much different name.

[chill_wind]

15. kick and rate this up! n/t

[The Wizard]

16. This wouldn't be

the same Arlen Specter who had the lead role in the Kennedy assassination cover-up? Magic Bullet Specter is doing what he's always done, providing cover for the enemies of democracy. Arlen is a go along to get along political hack. Then again, maybe he got an offer he couldn't refuse.
Next thing you know old Arlen will propose legislation making it illegal to criticize anyone named Bush. He's a self loathing Jew who should have his foreskin surgically reattached. No self respecting Jew gets in bed with the Klan. And no self respecting person calls themselves a Republican. Bigotry thy name is GOP. Arlen is headed for Dante's Ninth Circle.

[Cobalt-60]

17. PURGE!

Look ANYBODY from the local political comissar up with an "R" as their political stripe needs to be purged.
Indeed, i submit that our long term goal should be the eradication of the Republican Party.
There simply isn't a good Republican.

[xhndlr]

41. You are not smelling what I am smelling!

:wtf: 

I think you do not understand Arlen Specter's position!

He is in a dead heat battle in the primary with a guy named
Toomey in PA.
This thanks to the RINO hunter's and Neo-Cons in his party.

He may have gotten a deal in which they will "fund"
him in his race if he drop the matter.

I kind of feel sorry for him.

But, then again, I smell a problem in the Republican Party. 
This could spell SPLIT!

[Stand and Fight]

44. Wrong...

Specter was reelected in 2004. He's not running this year.

And no, I don't feel sorry for the curr.

[annabanana]

18. If anything has ever deserved a full court press, this does...

I don't want to se any "gang of" anything pretending this is acceptable.

[Demeter]

19. What Did Anyone Expect?

Specter ALWAYS does this: talks like a patriot, and rolls over like the enabling cowardly traitor he was born to be.

Anyone expecting different results ought to review the definition of insanity again.

[gademocrat7]

20. grandstanding Specter

just like shrub ...all hat no cattle. Disgusting.

[Lasher]

24. Wouldn't this be unconstitutional?

Assuming just for the sake of argument that we didn't have a rubber stamp Supreme Court, how do they plan to get around that pesky Fourth Amendment?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The current requirement, which is being illegally ignored, is for the Executive to seek a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant in every individual case. Maybe they're thinking a blanket program approval by the FISC would cover supplant this requirement, and also withstand a Fourth Amendment challenge. From the WaPo article:

The bill would, indeed, get the NSA's program in front of judges, in one of two ways. It would transfer lawsuits challenging the program from courts around the country to the super-secret court system that typically handles wiretap applications in national security cases. It would also permit -- but not require -- the administration to seek approval from this court system, created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, for entire surveillance programs, thereby allowing judges to assess their legality.

Another sinister aspect of the measure, which is revealed in the above paragraph, is the transfer of lawsuits to the FISC. Get it? FISA-related lawsuits would generate no more bad publicity for the Bush junta, because they would be under the jurisdiction of the super-secret FISC, a virtual guarantee of no public awareness whatsoever! What's next, the Valerie Plame lawsuit? Scooter's trial?

[chill_wind]

28. Good questions, all.

I sure wish we had some DU legal experts weighing in on this thread.

[Lasher]

45. I guess no DU legal beagles are going to weigh in on this thread.

But I found a pretty good legal overview and posted it here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=226&topic_id=4827&mesg_id=4827

[chill_wind]

46. Thank you! n/t

[katinmn]

26. As Gomer Pile would say: Well, SUR-PRIZE, SUR-PRIZE!

I have said all along - Do not trust Senator Sphincter!

[chill_wind]

27. No one should be surprised at his role, that's for certain!

But I hope as many as possible are getting the portent of this,
what fully hangs in the balance, to be soon decided upon--the very matter itself, which goes even far larger.

"This cannot be allowed to pass."

[thefuzz811]

31. This congress disgust me

They do mock hearings and don't ask any questions that are relevant to the topic. Then they present a bill that allows the actions that they were having a hearing about. I don't know why we are paying them for a job they aren't doing. In fact most of the so called representatives, do represent anything but corporations they used to work for.

[McCamy Taylor]

32. Surprised?Spectre has been playing "Pretend Congressional Oversight"

This has been obvious to anyone who has studied his actions closely. Same for McCain. They talk big on national TV to give Americans the impression that a federal government made up solely of Republicans can provide the necessary checks and balances, but they never actualy do anything.

http://www.grandtheftelectionohio.com/Flash/GooseStepRag/GOPGooseStep.html

[Mr_Spock]

33. Just another instance where us Specter non-believers were right.

Fool me once...

[marmar]

36. Typical Specter...

Does a lot of posturing, then kneels in front of Bush and opens wide.

[mkb]

37. Start Going On Forward Frequently

We need your help to stop this abuse on out lives. This legislation marries the ability to spy with nefarious state power. It will only cause us harm.
We must reach into our imaginations to realize the evil that can be perpetrated by authoritarian power, and to find ways to work against it so that we may lead, healthy, happy lives to the highest degree possible.
If you can leave you mental reservations about being secure, then you can make it out of the shell of insecurity, without losing respect for being cautious when proceeding.

[chill_wind]

38. Has there been any official Dem reaction since this came out?

Liberal blog reaction? Does anyone have anything?
I'm amazed this isn't getting more DU discussion.

[Nothing Without Hope]

40. You're right. I took a quick tour of some top blogs now and found

nothing but more Liebermann (enough, already! I'm all for Lamont but we had better ALSO pay attention to the OTHER important races!) and then there was Kos explaining why he refuses to write anything about the horrors going on in Lebanon etc. (He says that it won't end til both sides don't want war, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. That's a cowardly and defeatist response, I say. And also dishonest because he is in effect once again censoring very important news. He'd rather keep his ears closed.)

Where is the response?

I expect Jack Cafferty on CNN to have some choice words to say, as he has been most critical of Specter's acts in this play. But nothing on that yet.

But where are the Democrats? Where are the bloggers? What the hell is going on with this silence in the face of total capitulation with our supposedly inalienable rights? And with just one more bushie SCOTUS judge, it will become the "law of the land" with no recourse.

Where's the outrage? Where's even the f'ing NEWS???

[chill_wind]

42. He will be free of Congressional oversight forever.

I hear you NWH. Every blessed word. I'm at a total loss.
I know there are many huge competing issues quite currently, a myriad of them, but this is one among the many right now that scare me as much as any, if perhaps not the most. I also personally agree with you re: Kos's policy on the I/P foeign policy debate. His choice to make, of course.. but I visit there less and less these days...



FWIW here's at least one blog that really gets the gravity of what seems to be going on in this bill:

Once the President obtains the powers listed in section 801, the rest of the bill is pretty much irrelevant. He will be free of Congressional oversight forever.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Specter Gives Up the Game-- The Sham NSA Bill

JB

Senator Specter has reached agreement with the White House on a bill that would amend FISA and allow judicial review of the Administration's domestic surveillance activities on a program by program basis. The text of the bill is here and a summary is here

Although the judicial review provision is worrisome, it is by no means the most troubling thing about this bill. Specter's proposed legislation, if passed in its present form, would give President Bush everything he wants. And then some. At first glance, Specter's bill looks like a moderate and wise compromise that expands the President's authority to engage in electronic surveillance under a variety of Congressional and judicial oversight procedures. But read more closely, it actually turns out to be a virtual blank check to the Executive, because under section 801 of the bill the President can route around every single one of them. Thus, all of the elegant machinery of the bill's oversight provisions is, I regret to report, a complete and total sham. Once the President obtains the powers listed in section 801, the rest of the bill is pretty much irrelevant. He will be free of Congressional oversight forever.


(snip)

Barely two weeks after Hamdan, which appeared to be the most important separation of powers decision in our generation, the Executive is about to get back everything it lost in that decision, and more. In Hamdan, the Supreme Court gave the ball to Congress, hoping for a bit of oversight, and Senator Specter has just punted.


full text: http://balkin.blogspot.com/2006/07/specter-gives-up-game-sham-nsa-bill.html

(bold and italics mine.)

[Nothing Without Hope]

39. I wonder what dirt the bushies have on Specter. I do think blackmail

may be behind his craven behavior.

And speaking of craven behavior - here is the Wash Post behaving as if it hasn't abetted and enabled the neocons' unconstitutional power-grabbing again and again.

Better late than never, yes. But is it too late now? Let's all hope not. And I do expect to see the Wash Post continue to speak out of the other side, the lying, bushie-enabling side, of its mouth despite this moment of truth-telling.

[chill_wind]

43. The betrayal of the BA embedded corporate broadcast and print media

with far too little exception has been unforgivable. Craven is a good word.

Ellsberg: "Where are the Pentagon Papers?"