The second round of Judiciary Committee hearings are under way. Pat Leahy's opening remark basically charged the Congress with negligence oversight. He called the notion that Congress "unconsciously" authorized warrantless domestic spying when it authorized the use of force against Afghanistan "Alice in Wonderland" reasoning, and he slammed the White House for its lack of cooperation with Congressional inquiries.
Feingold is now saying the question of whether Mr. Bush has the authoritzation to bypass FISA isn't even close. He also is telling Mr. Specter that the very fact that the Chairman is proposing legislation to legalize the NSA program "undermines your argument that the president has that inherent authority." And surely, says Feingold, if the president has the unlimited authority to do as he sees fit, Feingold doesn't see why the president will follow new lesgislation any more than he followed FISA, and he "doesn't see why members of Congress are scrambling around trying to craft legislation."
Says Feingold:
"We can fight terrorism without breaking the law. The rule of law is central to who we are as a people. The president must be held accountable for breaking the law. ... if we as a Congress don't stand up for ourselves and for the American people, we become complicit in the breaking of the law. ... A little over 30 years ago, a president was held to account by members of his own party ... and by people like John Dean, who put the rule of law ahead of [party loyalty.]"
Feingold is arguing for no less than a call to stop the U.S. slide toward monarch.
I somehow doubt his Republican colleagues will take up the charge. Their prime directive, it is now clear from these hearings, is to protect the president.
Read: Feingold's resolution (PDF). Feingold's statement supporting the resolution.
C-SPAN watch: So far, of five callers, two Democrats, one Independent and one Republican support censure, one angry GOPer says "censure Feingold." The current caller is a Republican from New Hampshire, where he says they have "real conservative Republicans." He is blasting the president for "lying us into war," "outing a CIA agent in a time of war," and more. Wow.
Update: Via Rawstory, the opening statements by John Dean, Senator Russ Feingold, and former Reagan deputy A.G. Bruce Fein (who in my opinion stole the show today.)
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
