Letter of Dissent
December 20, 2005
From: Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
Syndicated Columnist
2340 FM 407,
Senator Hutchison,
I understand that Senator Cornyn quoted former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick’s July 14, 1994 testimony today (Dec. 20, 2005) in defense of Bush's authorization of domestic spying by the NSA. I assume he used those words because he is in favor of the president overruling our constitution's fourth amendment.
I do not know where you personally stand on this new development. I write to you in hopes that your loyalty to this great nation is not trumped by your loyalty to the Republican party.
Here's the Achilles heel of Cornyn's argument: Gorelick said “the President has inherent authority to conduct warrant-less physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes.” Fine. However, at the time she gave that testimony, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court did not cover physical searches. The same year, Gorelick argued that physical searches were not covered by the FISA - she acknowledged the facts. In 1995, the
Neither Gorelick nor Clinton ever argued that the president could ignore FISA law. What Bush has done - ignoring the fourth amendment and bypassing FISA - is a clear-cut felony.
Bush has repeatedly and knowingly violated US Code Title 50, § 1809. The penalty is “not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.”
The president himself confirmed that he knew warrants were required for these sorts of searches in April of 2004, a full three years after he authorized illegal spying. There is video of this, found online here:
http://streaming.americanprogress.org/ThinkProgress/2005/bushwiretaps.320.240.mov.htm
Do not let loyalty to the GOP trump your commitment to the constitution. Please do not make transparent excuses for one who has shown so little regard for our laws. This is going to come crashing down on the president's head in the form of ANOTHER special prosecutor.
When Democrats take power this time next year, it'll be a long, hard slog for you through the impeachment battle that is now all but certain. I am sure you remember when this happened to Nixon. The difference is, he lied about the spying and Bush admitted it with a smile. As though to ask, "What are you going to do about it?"
The president is not exempt from our laws. He runs this country, but no man's actions are of greater value than our constitution. I make no excuses for a corrupt police officer who plants drugs on a citizen and makes a false arrest, only to be found out and arrested himself. Why would your peer in the Senate make excuses for a politician who knowingly violates laws that carry similar penalties?
What Bush has done makes him a felon. I would hope Senator Cornyn is not angling to become an accessory. There are no excuses for criminality. Instead, I hope you will support a movement to have this investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I pray your loyalty to the Republican party does not trump your loyalty to the
A brief reminder ...
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the
Thank you,
Stephen Webster
Investigative Reporter
Syndicated Columnist
