BUSH GOT SMACKED DOWN BY FISA COURT!!! BOOYOW!

[originalpckelly]

Not only did the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court rule against warrantless wiretapping, it also ruled against a "program" warrant, which is what Specter wanted!

And by the way, that PUNK at 1600 Penn. Ave. was full of shit about not being able to spy on al-Qaeda, because Gonzales specifically admitted to the fact they will still be able to wiretap al-Qaeda calls in/out of the USA!

I want an apology, and I want one now. We were called traitors and al-Qaeda lovers by a bunch of ass-kissing idiots, and by the way, they were being used by this sorry ass President to defend his illegal program! You might even say we were the ones who were patriotic and the freepers were the traitors for advocating the overthrow of our tradition of warrants.

This is a day of triumph, because not only will al-Qaeda still wiretapped, but our President will not be able to wiretap at his discretion.

For more info check this out:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002356.php

[halobeam]

1. This is a big win.

I'm still like a kid at a party... not sure if I should get out and dance yet, for so many reasons.

[originalpckelly]

3. Well, it's a start in pushing back.

We're a lot safer tonight than we were on 1/9/07. Not only can we spy on al-Qaeda, but the President can't just arbitrarily spy on anyone.

[dogday]

13. I think you are wise to be holding your breath on this one

I am not sure this is the good news we have been hoping for, or more of the same old cat and mouse game this administration is so good at playing. This Single Judge issue makes me skin crawl..

[originalpckelly]

31. Well, that's FISA. FISA is a secret court, but it's secret so that terrorists...

won't get a hold of the fact they're being spied on.

It is partly a cat and mouse game, because they nullified the appeal of Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's decision against the warrantless wiretapping program.

This court is secret, and Gonzo can spin it all he wants, because we will probably never see the decision by the judge.

Another hint here is that they don't plan on appealing this to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Appeals, which indicates they don't have a problem with this decision. It's CYA in a way, but it shows how little they can cover their asses on this, because this is pretty bad anyway.

Of course, we'll know more tomorrow in the Judiciary Committee hearing:
NOTICE OF FULL COMMITTEE HEARING

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice” on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 106.

By order of the Chairman


Witness List

Hearing before the
Senate Judiciary Committee
on
Department of Justice Oversight

Thursday, January 18, 2007
Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 106
9:30 a.m.

PANEL I

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice
Washington, DC

http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2473

[Swamp Rat]

2. HAHA! FUCK YOU Bushler and your slack-jawed sycophants!

:kick:

[originalpckelly]

6. WOW! Bush's long lost brothers!

Forget about Neil and Jeb, those are his *real* brothers.

[MasonJar]

19. I thought those were Neil and Jeb! n/t

[malaise]

4. This is great news

Men are runnng scared now that the investigations are beginning.

[originalpckelly]

5. They are, BIG TIME!

:rofl:

It's a good night, because those who called us traitors have been shown to be full of crap!

[malaise]

11. 2007 will be a good year

I wish I was on vacation but I'll be recording like hell.

[democrank]

7. Yes! Junior is finally starting to get his hand slapped.

Next stop......impeachment.

[originalpckelly]

8. Oh, I think of it more as a kick to the groin!

:kick:
:rofl:

[annabanana]

9. huh! . . . . Don't hold your breath for that apology...

You know they don't roll that way. That said, this is wonderful news. Now all we have to do is prosecute for all the crap they did BEFORE they were slapped down.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. "that PUNK at 1600 Penn. Ave." You have a way with words. nt

[annabanana]

12. Rachel Maddow talking about it now

Her question is "Will investigations still go forward"?

[Disturbed]

17. Busholini violated the FISA Law 32 times.

32 Felonies! That's not valid for Impeachment?

[originalpckelly]

27. Each offense carries a maximum sentence of 5 years...

or a maximum fine of $10,000. That's a lot one way or the other!

[goforit]

14. Don't celebrate too soon, Bush is gathering secret judges to approve his WT.

[Cameron27]

15. I don't want an apology

from the boy king or any of his minions, I want prosecution.

Defender of the Constitution, my ass.

[rpgamerd00d]

16. Bush probably thinks Dems will now let this issue drop instead of investigate

They better not!

[Tuesday_Morning]

18. I'm still sorting this out...

and Glenn Greenwald seems to be sorting it out as well.

Very interesting read here:

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2007/01/fisa-and-president-together-again.html

[druidity33]

28. good link! nt

[sakabatou]

20. Excellent

[The Witch]

21. Smacked down my ass. What else did Gonzo do today?

Started talking about judges being inferior, that's what. This is CYA bullshit. This is so he can pre-empt the tough questions he'll face tomorrow. There is no way this lets him off the hook for the bullshit he's doing. He strongarmed a judge into saying OK go on so he can say under oath it is all approved. Look at what he says - that "long before the first press account" they were seeking approval.

CYA!

[pat_k]

24. Judge said OK to following the existing law, which I doubt Bush actually intends to do.

Only impeachment can stop them.

Their attempt to pretend FISA OK'd "their" program would be laughable if the press weren't eating it up.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3142189&mesg_id=3142790">They'll never give up their fascist "unitary authoritarian" fantasy.

[pat_k]

22. They'll never give up their fascist "unitary authoritarian" fantasy.

We can be fairly confident that they are just lying about this. Why should it be any different than anything else they say? How else can they restore the secret status of the program?

What they are floating is a lame PR move to attempt to stave off the ground swell for impeachment. Ideally, impeachment is a defense mechanism to cease ongoing abuses against the U.S. Constitution. Now they'll simply be able to claim that their abuses are no longer ongoing when it comes to illegal spying.

They still haven't found their fig leaf for ongoing torture and war crimes at Gitmo.

Stay tuned.

[helderheid]

23. Gonzales is slated to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow.

Any idea if it will be on the Span?

[originalpckelly]

32. No clue, but here is a link to the hearing page, they usually...

put up a webcast:
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2473

[porphyrian]

25. I'll kick that. - n/t

[Igel]

26. It sounds rather the opposite.

They say they approached FISA and tweaked whatever to get FISA's approval. FISA doesn't typically seek out things to rule on, they don't have an investigative arm; so it's fairly clear they went to FISA.

Since Gonzales et al. believe they have a constitutional right to intercept communications with and between 'foreign powers' (the 'between' part isn't open to interpretation--that they can pretty clearly do), they'd only have sought consent if they were fairly sure they'd get it, and lose little in the process.

It does appear to be a blanket order, one order authorizing the program: no individual warrants for each case, and nothing ruling out having the party on the US end of the line be an American citizen. In other words, it sounds exactly like what they said they were doing is simply rubber stamped. I don't see the smack down, given the letter at muckraker.

Now, the FISA people might say something different, but it's unlikely they're going to speak.

[originalpckelly]

29. No, the line about "probable cause" gives it away. That means...

they will have to prove that they should be able to wiretap a person. That's a warrant.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court doesn't have the statutory authority to approve a "blanket order". AG Gonzales was specifically being vague in order make this look better.

If the FISC judge followed the law, then this was indeed a smack-down.

And it even looks like Gonzales went to the FISC in order to be smacked-down. As you specifically stated, an issue must be brought to the court in order for them to rule on it. I bet that the DOJ had the FBI file for a FISA warrant using information from the "Terrorist Surveillance Program", so that the judge would be able to evaluate the warrantless surveillance program.

They did this on purpose, and I'm willing to bet it has to do with the other court case now going on at the appeals level. The case is the one ruled on by district court judge Anna Diggs Taylor. By getting this decision, the DOJ has nullified the issue in the other public appeals case.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

30. K&R w/ FISH FOOD FOR BUSH...

NOW EAT IT BEFORE YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE!

[NotGivingUp]

33. well...a bit of good news!