Glenn Greenwald on C-Span Monday to debate NSA

lenn Greenwald on C-SPan mondy to debate blogger hero and Constitutional attorney Glenn Greenwald, who travelled last week to Capital Hill to help advise Senate Staffers on how to question Alberto Gonzales in the upcoming NSA hearings, will be appearing on C-Spans Washington Journal (starting at 7:45 am EST). Joining the discussion will be Professor Robert Turner of the University of Virginia.

In December, Professor Turner wrote a widely celebrated (among Bush followers) Op-Ed in The Wall St. Journal praising the Administration's decision to eavesdrop in violation of FISA on the ground that Congress has no right to limit the President's eavesdropping activities.

I've taken a quick look at Prof. Turners Op-ed and I have to ask, "Do these people actually read the Constitution?" Professor Turner asserts that...

For nearly 200 years it was understood by all three branches that intelligence collection--especially in wartime--was an exclusive presidential prerogative vested in the president by Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution. Washington, Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, John Marshall and many others recognized that the grant of "executive power" to the president included control over intelligence gathering. It was not by chance that there was no provision for congressional oversight of intelligence matters in the National Security Act of 1947.

Problem is, Article II Section 1 of The Constitution describes how the President is elected, that's all.

He obviously meant to reference Article II Section 2. which states...

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

So an easy way to knock these guys off their game is to simply point out that they can't count to 2.

The second fact is that the Constitution doens't mention anything about the President and Intelligence. Nothing. All it says, as noted above, is that the President is "Commander in Chief". But the argument that all powers contained in that title (which would include espionage and counter-espionage during war) are not subject to oversight or control by Congress become clearly specious when you take into consideration Article I Section 8 Paragraph 14 which grants to the Congress the power...

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

So in simple laymens terms the Congress makes the rules as well as all those pesky laws. The President is charged with Executing those laws, rules and regulations, not re-writing them on the fly.

Turner Continues..

Our Constitution is the supreme law, and it cannot be amended by a simple statute like the FISA law. Every modern president and every court of appeals that has considered this issue has upheld the independent power of the president to collect foreign intelligence without a warrant.

NSA as a part of the DOD, would be considered part of our "Land and naval forces" - therefore under Article II Section 8, FISA should be entirely legal, in my laymans opinion.

The arguement that Presidential Powers in a time of war are unlimited has been disproven by the courts numerous times. And if "Enemies List" arguments are so far off base, why is the FBI Swamped with bogus NSA leads and the DIA targeting Greenpeace and PETA?

Anything wrong with my reasoning?

Vyan