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Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than 30 Times

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 11:04:16 AM EST
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President Bush today admitted he ordered National Security wiretaps without a warrant more than 30 times since 2001. He says he has the power to do it. You can watch his statement here.

From the Washington Post:

Bush said that he authorized the program "using constitutional authority vested in me as commander-in-chief." He argued that the program is consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, and used "to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations."

Bush blames the leakers:

"The existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk."

Revealing classified information is illegal, Bush said, and damages our country. He intends to continue to authorize the warrantless interceptions.

< McCain Torture Policy Undercut By Amendment | Executive Orders For Warrantless Wiretapping >

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    Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than 30 Times | 22 comments (22 topical)
    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#1)
    by KD on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:08 PM EST
    Bush is openly defiant of this nation's laws. The line in the sand has been crossed openly. As Russ Feingold said, he is a president and not a king, but Bush said that he will continue to defy this nation's laws that were passed by Congress and signed into law by previous Presidents. Impeachment is the least we can do as citizens for the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Bush in his defiance is committing a high crime against the Constitution or as he would say, "It's just a goddamn piece of paper." I will be calling for a meeting with Rep. DeGette on the impeachment of Bush due to his committing a crime that must be punished by his forcible removal from office.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:08 PM EST
    It's ceaselessly amazing to me that Dubya thinks he has ANY credibility left. He doesn't even seem to comprehend that most Americans are horrified by the idea the this nitwit is convinced he's "protecting" us. He is doing nothing but flushing the credibility of the entire nation down the toilet. A "Christian" who thinks keeping the rich rich and making war are his most vital responsibilities. Christ would spit in his face.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:08 PM EST
    Also, with the malfeasance and imcompetence the Bush Administration has been ,and continues to be, engaged in, you'd be hard pressed to argue against tapping Dubya's phone. We're already spying on law-abiding, protest oriented Americans. It's about time Dubya -- who is certainly neither of those -- got a taste of his own medicine. The minds running this nation make peas look like boulders.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:08 PM EST
    He must not have learned about that little document called the Bill of Rights at Yale. Quite convenient for him, really.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:31:20 PM EST
    test

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#6)
    by soccerdad on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 02:15:36 PM EST
    NEW BEDFORD -- A senior at UMass Dartmouth was visited by federal agents two months ago, after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's tome on Communism called "The Little Red Book." Two history professors at UMass Dartmouth, Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand, said the student told them he requested the book through the UMass Dartmouth library's interlibrary loan program. The student, who was completing a research paper on Communism for Professor Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism, filled out a form for the request, leaving his name, address, phone number and Social Security number. He was later visited at his parents' home in New Bedford by two agents of the Department of Homeland Security, the professors said.
    link Surveillance, checks on book users, holding citizens without charging them, propaganda, torture, etc etc. Lenin and Mussolini would be proud. The coward wretch whose hand and heart can bear to torture aught below, Is ever first to quail and start from the slightest pain or equal foe: Bertrand Russell Its a power hungry administration run amuck.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 03:13:34 PM EST
    Its a power hungry administration run amuck.
    Was there ever any doubt about that? And Bush's justification is: He says he has the power to do it.... "A nation once admired and adored, the light that attracted freedom and democracy, has been extinguished in the minds of billions. --A Cabal of Criminality The Rise of the Amerikan Nazis * Part i Birth of Despotism * Part ii Democracy at Death’s Doorstep * Part iii Amerikan Terrorists, American Tragedy The Inevitable Triumph of Progressive Thought

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#8)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 03:30:46 PM EST
    All hail king bush. Feel better wingnuts?

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 03:37:17 PM EST
    This man(?) has the football?

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#10)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 04:03:09 PM EST
    FISA makes it a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, to conduct electronic surveillance except as provided for by statute. The only defense is for law government agents engaged in official duties conducting “surveillance authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order.” [50 U.S.C. § 1809]


    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 04:46:23 PM EST
    As Atrios has pointed out, it's misleading to say "Bush ordered wiretaps more than 30 times". He gave a blanket reauthorization for the wiretap program more than 30 times - once every month and a half. How many wiretaps they did in each of those periods is unknown, but the article says hundreds, possibly thousands.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#12)
    by Lww on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 07:38:48 PM EST
    When the next attack reddens our streets with the blood of innocent people,who will you blame? The 9-11 commission and most security experts are convinced this country will experience another devastating attack in the near future. That lurking inevitability should bring chills to any normal person who remembers the horror of 9-11. Lincoln trampled the rights of anyone perceived as enemies of the Union, Wilson had his sedition act,FDR locked up Japanese citizens,we're still here... I have a funny feelin if Bush freed all the the murderers on death row, said abortion was the best thing since sliced bread and made gay marriage the law of the land you'd all just suddenly shut the **** up.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#13)
    by Lww on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 08:04:43 PM EST
    Charlie, you come off lookin like a dope. Which no doubt you are. I've been against the war in Iraq from the beginning, you didn't know that but then you don't know much do you Charlie? Dismissed... I love it.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 08:28:54 PM EST
    I have a funny feelin if Bush freed all the the murderers on death row, said abortion was the best thing since sliced bread and made gay marriage the law of the land you'd all just suddenly shut the **** up.
    You bring up gay marriage as if it had something to do with the President of the United States circumventing the law. You're apologizing for fascists. We're no longer having spirited banter over media glamourized Presidential fellatio. The Neoconservatives are liars and you are helping perpetuate those lies. Why, because you're afraid of homosexuals? Are you so short sighted that your own pathetic fear of same sex coupling has blinded you to the destruction of our rights? Rendition. Torture. Covert surveillance without need for Judicial warrants or oversight. Being held captive in U.S. prisons without being charged of a crime and without access to counsel. Library reading lists monitored. Wire taps. Closed borders. Bodysearches to gain access to public transportation. Talk of bombing foreign news organizations. The occupation of a foreign land. Obfuscation of body counts. etc. etc. Do you believe that these same abuses of power couldn't touch your home -- your family -- why, because your skin isn't brown? Ignoratzi indeed. There's no hope for the right wing.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#15)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 12:26:34 AM EST
    Go easy on LWW...he's only trying to avoid getting on the watchlist and having the DHS goons go knock-knock on his door in the middle of the night.

    Re: Bush Admits Ordering Secret Wiretaps More Than (none / 0) (#16)
    by Edger on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 02:18:02 AM EST
    LWW: The 9-11 commission and most security experts are convinced this country will experience another devastating attack in the near future. That lurking inevitability should bring chills to any normal person who remembers the horror of 9-11. LWW, do you think there will be another fatal car accident somewhere in your town, your neighborhood, or near your house today? What do think the odds are of you being in one? In 2001, automobile crashes killed 15 times more Americans than terrorism. Shall we have a "War on Cars"? How about a "War on Roadbuilders"? Get some perspective, will you? --- Scare Tactics - Article by John Schettler The politics of fear and persuasion in America today, and why Americans consistently fear the wrong things.