In his weekly radio address, President Bush not only blames
Congress for tonight’s expiration of the Protect America
Act, he says that his government will have a harder time keeping
you safe:
Because Congress failed
to act, it will be harder for our government to keep you safe
from terrorist attack. At midnight, the Attorney General and
the Director of National Intelligence will be stripped of their
power to authorize new surveillance against terrorist threats
abroad. This means that as terrorists change their tactics to
avoid our surveillance, we may not have the tools we need to
continue tracking them — and we may lose a vital lead
that could prevent an attack on America.
Nothing about the measure’s expiration prevents either
law enforcement or intelligence officials from carrying out
new surveillance against suspected terrorists. They will simply
need to get a warrant. Nor is exigency a factor, as warrants
can even be obtained after the surveillance has begun.
Furthermore, Bush’s hype over tonight’s midnight
expiration is undermined by the words of his own top aides.
Just 24 hours ago, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell
told NPR:
(Article continues below)
McConnell let slip that the real goal in the debate over the
Protect America Act is not to protect America, but to protect
the telecommunication companies being sued for assisting in
Bush’s illegal wiretapping. The president claims he wants
to protect these companies to ensure their future cooperation.
However, legal warrants compel cooperation.
The only reason to insist on telecom immunity is that the telecom
lawsuits are the only remaining avenue for bringing to light
the administration’s illegal activities. And that is what
Bush and his conservative allies will not permit, regardless
of how real the cost is to America’s intelligence-gathering
apparatus.
– Tom
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UPDATE: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid released this joint statement:
