Alito Defended Officials From Wiretap Suits (Bush trying to stack court?)

[ProSense]

Alito Defended Officials From Wiretap Suits By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito defended the right of government officials to order domestic wiretaps when he worked for the Reagan Justice Department, documents released Friday show.

He advocated a step by step approach to strengthening the hand of officials in a 1984 memo to the solicitor general. The strategy is similar to the one that Alito espoused for rolling back abortion rights at the margins.

snip...

Despite Alito's warning that the government would lose, the Reagan administration took the fight to the Supreme Court in the case of whether Nixon's attorney general, John Mitchell, could be sued for authorizing a warrantless domestic wiretap to gather information about a suspected terrorist plot. The FBI had received information about a conspiracy to destroy utility tunnels in Washington and kidnap Henry Kissinger, then national security adviser.


snip...

"There are also strong reasons to believe that our chances of success will be greater in future cases," he wrote. He noted then-Justice William Rehnquist would be a key vote and had recused himself from the Nixon-era case.
more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051223/ap_on_go_su_co/alito

[democrat_patriot]

1. Alito cannot be confirmed before the wiretap issue

has been taken care of.

This may well go to the SCOTUS before all is said and done.

[ananda]

2. Yes..

.. Bush is stacking SCOTUS so that he and his admin can get away with anything.

The courts are in the process of being rendered rightwing tools in the process of
eliminating checks and balances on CEO's and big corporations.

Sue

[Mz Pip]

3. Roberts is certainly a

believer in strong executive power. I suspect Bush has carefully chosen his nominees based on their belief in the power of the president to do whatever he damn well pleases.

What do we need the Patriot Act for when Bush does whatever he wants anyway?

Mz Pip
:dem:

[earthboundmisfit]

4. Man, this is beginning to read like a gut-wrenching novel...

Sure hope it has a happy ending - for us - indeed for the whole planet...
'Cuz if the bad guys come out on top in this story, the epilogue won't be pretty - or there won't be one at all.

[cally]

5. Finally, an issue that will defeat his nomination

I didn't think the civil rights abuses, anti-choice, and abuse of police power would be enough to defeat Alito. Too many Dems would be afraid to stand up for these issues. The wiretap issue and overstepping of Presidential authority will give the Dems cover to oppose Alito. Several moderate Republicans may join in. I now predict an Alito defeat.