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The President Is Not Above the Law

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by KenH, Dec 20, 2005.

  1. Joseph_Botwinick

    Joseph_Botwinick <img src=/532.jpg>Banned

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    Ok. I will try. [​IMG]

    Joseph Botwinick
     
  2. JGrubbs

    JGrubbs New Member

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    The law is set up so that this wouldn't happen. The president can wiretap and monitor any terrorist suspect who is not a US citizen without a warrant, even the millions of illegals that he has welcomed into the country.

    When a US citizen is involved he is required to get a warrant, if the issue is so time sensitive that he can't wait for the special court that is in place in Washington open 24/7 soley for warrants in relation to federal monitoring, then the law allows him to do the wiretapping and monitoring and then get the warrant after the fact within so many days. That is fine, as long as the warrant is attained at some point during the process as the law specifies.

    If he has done this in every case involving any US citizens, then the Times article that started all of this is just allot of hot air, but if he has wiretapped or monitored US citizens without a warrant either before or after the fact, then he has ignored the law. Members of Congress from both sides have called for an investigation, we will know the truth in the end.
     
  3. Bunyon

    Bunyon New Member

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    "The president can wiretap and monitor any terrorist suspect who is not a US citizen"----------------------------------------------------

    And there is the rub. Some terrorist are citizens and many legal organizations in the us have been shown to be giving moral and financial support. And they have also said the time it takes for the court to grant the warrant is not the problem. They said it is all the paperwork that the court requires. The prep time can be weeks.
     
  4. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    The law is set up so that this wouldn't happen. The president can wiretap and monitor any terrorist suspect who is not a US citizen without a warrant, even the millions of illegals that he has welcomed into the country.

    When a US citizen is involved he is required to get a warrant, if the issue is so time sensitive that he can't wait for the special court that is in place in Washington open 24/7 soley for warrants in relation to federal monitoring, then the law allows him to do the wiretapping and monitoring and then get the warrant after the fact within so many days. That is fine, as long as the warrant is attained at some point during the process as the law specifies.

    </font>[/QUOTE]You are mistaken.

    Enhanced Surveillance Provisions Affecting Library Confidentiality
    Section 215: Access to Records Under Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA)
    Amends the business records provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to allow FBI agents to obtain "any tangible thing," which includes books, records, papers, floppy disks, data tapes, computers and their hard drives, and any type of record in any format. Prior to the PATRIOT Act, FISA only permitted agents to obtain car rental records, hotel records, storage locker records, and common carrier records for a foreign agent.
    Allows FBI agents to ask the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to issue an ex parte, secret court order to obtain any kind of record or tangible thing when the record sought is for an investigation into terrorism or foreign espionage.
    Lowers the legal standard for obtaining a court order under FISA. Under the new FISA, the agent need only "specify that the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation" in order to obtain a warrant from the special FISA court. Prior to the PATRIOT Act, the agent needed to demonstrate "probable cause" that the target of the investigation was an agent for a foreign power.
    Allows investigations to target U.S. citizens, as long as the investigation is not based solely upon activities protected by the First Amendment. (Note that this does not exclude investigations into acts and behavior that may include First Amendment protected activities.) Prior to the PATRIOT Act, FISA could only be used when pursuing non-citizen foreign agents. Prohibits the library from notifying the patron under suspicion, the press, or anyone else that a warrant has been served upon the library, or that records have been surrendered.
    Under the rules of the FISA Court, only FBI agents or authorized U.S. attorneys can appear before the FISA court, eliminating any possibility of challenging the order.
     
  5. JGrubbs

    JGrubbs New Member

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    Who has said? They don't have to go down to the local court house and wait in line. They have a special court that is set up that opperates 24/7 just for this purpose, these judges hear no other cases. I saw one of these judges on television the other day, he said that while he served, he would issue many of these warrants at 2 and 3 in the morning. They wiretaps and monitoring of these citizens who are terrorist suspects can begin many weeks before the warrant is obtained, so the time involved should not be an issue.
     
  6. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    The surveillance can be done before the paperwork is even started.
     
  7. Bunyon

    Bunyon New Member

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    Ken, I have not heard anything like that. But that would be a warrantless search, which you are currently raving about,
     
  8. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    Not at all. What I am "raving" about is a warrantless search and then not following the law by doing the paperwork afterward.
     
  9. jstrickland1989

    jstrickland1989 New Member

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    Ken, do you just hate President Bush? It's okay to admit it.

    James
     
  10. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    No, I do not hate the man for whom I voted for president twice.
     
  11. jstrickland1989

    jstrickland1989 New Member

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    I'm just wondering, do you think this is the first time the government has "supposedly" (and I mean supposedly) done something illegal, or do you agree that this has been going on for almost 60 years?

    Also, why are you so worried about it? The government is wiretapping people who are supposedly terrorist, not the average joe. So what does this have to do with the average American giving up freedoms?

    James
     
  12. Joseph_Botwinick

    Joseph_Botwinick <img src=/532.jpg>Banned

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    Ken: The defender of pencil pusher beaurocratic red tape that protects nobodies right to privacy.

    Who'da thunk it? :D

    Joseph Botwinick
     
  13. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that—

    (A) the electronic surveillance is solely directed at—
    (i) the acquisition of the contents of communications transmitted by means of communications used exclusively between or among foreign powers, as defined in section 1801 (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this title; or
    (ii) the acquisition of technical intelligence, other than the spoken communications of individuals, from property or premises under the open and exclusive control of a foreign power, as defined in section 1801 (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this title;

    (B) there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party; and

    (C) the proposed minimization procedures with respect to such surveillance meet the definition of minimization procedures under section 1801 (h) of this title; and

    if the Attorney General reports such minimization procedures and any changes thereto to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at least thirty days prior to their effective date, unless the Attorney General determines immediate action is required and notifies the committees immediately of such minimization procedures and the reason for their becoming effective immediately.

    - LINK
     
  14. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    Being a pencil pusher by trade what else would you expect? [​IMG]
     
  15. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    George W. Bush will not always be the one sitting in the Oval Office.
     
  16. Bunyon

    Bunyon New Member

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    Ken, the issue is that the year is over and he would have to go to the courts again, so this does not apply to the current situation.
     
  17. jstrickland1989

    jstrickland1989 New Member

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    George W. Bush will not always be the one sitting in the Oval Office. </font>[/QUOTE]But you speak of GW as if he's some kind of menace to society, and that he wants to have a dictatorship in the US. While he MAY (which is yet to be determined) have done something wrong, I highly doubt that he cares to wiretap the average Americans phonecalls. These are terrorist! Not Uncle Bill down the road! You have to put everything in perspective.

    James
     
  18. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    So the AG would have to certify it again, Bunyon.
     
  19. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    Unrestrained government power is a menance to society would would result in a dictatorship in the U.S. That is why The Founders crafted the U.S. constitution with limited, enumerated powers for the federal government.

    But I do realize that nowadays the federal government rarely pays attention to the federal constitution about substantive matters.
     
  20. jstrickland1989

    jstrickland1989 New Member

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    But nobody has proven he is a menace to society. While we THINK we don't KNOW. You have to stop jumping to conclusions.

    I know this is off-topic, but I can't imagine what the U.S would be like with Peroutka (constitutional party) as President. Could you? The terrorist would have free reign in America. It's not all about privacy. And again, what freedoms have you lost to this? Personally!

    James
     
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