Christmas Break Snoopgate Homework

Christmas. . .er . . .Holiday break assignment for the MSM, Lindsay Graham, Russ Feingold and anyone else running for President: Read Article II of the Constitution of the United States. (Nice little document, you may have heard of it, seeing as how some of you have sworn an oath to uphold it). Also read the U.S. Code on the subject of electronic surveillance. Special note to Senator Levin, who asked on one of the Sunday shows where Bush got the right to authorize wiretaps without a court order. Possibly here, Senator, in Title 50, Chapter 36, Subchapter I of the U.S. Code (emphasis mine):

§ 1802. Electronic surveillance authorization without court order; certification by Attorney General; reports to Congressional committees; transmittal under seal; duties and compensation of communication common carrier; applications; jurisdiction of court

Release date: 2005-03-17
(a)
(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;

The Wall Street Journal hands Senator Graham and others their hats, here.

in In Re: Sealed Case, the 2002 opinion by the special panel of appellate judges established to hear FISA appeals. In its per curiam opinion, the court noted that in a previous FISA case (U.S. v. Truong), a federal "court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue [our emphasis], held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information." And further that "we take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional power."
On Sunday Mr. Graham opined that "I don't know of any legal basis to go around" FISA--which suggests that next time he should do his homework before he implies on national TV that a President is acting like a dictator.

Extra Credit for reading Byron York on Clinton's assertion of the power not just to wiretap, but to search without a warrant. Jonathan Alter, if you had any self-respect you'd resign or at least go on hiatus for writing this. It's not a policy disagreement you have with the president, it's a laziness complex that prevents you from doing something as elementary as checking the facts before you run right off the rhetorical cliff.