Note to Tweety: Comments made by Bush in 2004 are NOT "pre-9/11."

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200602060012

Summary: Chris Matthews claimed that a comment made by President Bush in April 2004 that "ny time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires ... a court order" was "pre-9-11."

On the February 6 edition of MSNBC Live, Hardball host Chris Matthews falsely claimed that President Bush's April 2004 statement that "ny time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires ... a court order" was "pre-9-11." Though it is not clear whether Matthews meant that Bush made this statement prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks or that Bush was simply referring to "pre-9-11" policies, either claim would be false. In fact, Bush's statement came more than two years after the September 11 attacks and included Bush's assertion that "othing has changed. ... When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."

On February 6, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend Bush's authorization of warrantless eavesdropping on the communications of U.S. residents -- an apparent violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Referring at the hearing to Bush's 2004 statement, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told Gonzales: "Mr. Attorney General, in light of what you and the president have said in the past month, this statement appears to be false."

On MSNBC Live, anchor Contessa Brewer asked Matthews about Feinstein's use of Bush's 2004 statement. Matthews falsely responded: "Well, that's what he said in the past. Of course, that was pre-9-11."

[Sadie5]

1. I don't even listen to this jerk

much less believe anything he says