Specter: "Pres. may have a constitutional right to inherent authority, but

[jsamuel]

"President may have a constitutional right to inherent authority, but that doesn't give him the right to ignore Congress' constitutional right to make law." (Paraphrased)

He is tearing Gonzo a new one at the end of this hearing!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. Then how come he didn't make Gonz swear in?

[jsamuel]

2. ...

:shrug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. I bet Cheney leaned on him

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. Exactly. If he actually cared, Gonzales would have been sworn in.

Even if the Dems have caught him in lies, there's nothing they can do about it now. Thanks Specter! For NUTHIN'!

[soothsayer]

18. specter staffer claims that gonzales took oath when he took job

so that counts

[Botany]

3. all for show ....

He didn't put Alberto under oath

[ChiciB1]

7. And Tomorrow... He'll Be Kissing His ASS!...... n/t

[Kagemusha]

5. What? A Republican defending separation of powers?

I thought Gonzales explained to him what the unitary executive theory was all about (i.e. all lawmaking, judiciary and executive power in one man when the nation is under attack).

[0rganism]

12. All for show -- if it were a real defense, Gonzo would've been under oath

Specter undermined his own authority and Gonzo's accountability at the start of these proceedings.

[Ksec]

6. Specters reputation is at stake here

Or whats left of his reputation. He KNOWS they broke the law. HE KNOWS IT !

[jsamuel]

8. I think you are right, "HE KNOWS IT!"

[fooj]

10. You bet HE KNOWS!!!

Bastard.

[xchrom]

13. i thought you sold your reputation when you became a senator?

[Inland]

9. It's a waste of breath. He doesn't agree.

AG thinks that the congress has no right to make laws restricting the president's

"war powers" over citizens.

[jsamuel]

14. funny because all he could say was, "I agree"

[Inland]

17. So?

AG and Bush also lied about torture and wiretapping. What makes you think that there's some punctilio of honor that would force them to tell the truth today?

[jsamuel]

19. I don't, I think it was funny that he was saying "I agree" over and over

with Specter when he obviously wasn't agreeing.

[PhilipShore]

15. I think I have an opinion of the Repuke Scheme...

I am no lawyer, but it seems to me that -- essentially it is this: their strategy is to by law or defacto law, make it so that, Repukes can ignore, any law they find to be unreasonable -- even without going to court and/or Congress.

The Repuke, senators and even some Dems will huff and puff, but then in the end -- rubber stamp, into law a new law or policy of congress favorable to Gonzo.

The policy Gonzo is bulldozing thru congress now -- is the policy -- that Congress will not question the King Bush---excuse me President Bush --by means of Congress simply just ignoring the FISA law, by unwritten (defacto) law and/or policy, which Gonzo would prefer (that is why they had Gonzo not be under oath), to keep it an unofficial rule about how Congress is to review FISA in the future(which after the hearings will be no review at all).

Alternatively, if Gonzo does to get defacto rights to ignore FISA, he would want -- Congress to amend FISA to make legal -- the way Gonzo has been defacto --applying FISA.

[Toots]

16. What does he mean by "Inherent Authority"?

His authority is spelled out within the Constitution and yes it is "inherent" but it is not greater than that of Congress, at least if we read and believe the Constitution as it is written.

[MiniMe]

20. The problem I have is the "commander in chief" defense

Yes, Bush is the CIC during wartime, CIC of the armed services. NOT CIC of the country. That does not give him the right to break laws.

I am also sick of this "ongoing investigation" or "ongoing operation" defense. They can't talk about anything because of either National Security, Ong Investigation, or Ong Operation. What BS. Where is the oversight??