From Yahoo News.
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has begun an internal investigation into its handling of information gathered in the government's domestic spying program.
Normally this would be a good thing, but apparantly - it's a Tiger with no Teeth.
However, Democrats criticized the review as not going far enough to determine whether the program violates federal law.
So just what is going on here?
To some extent the question of legality of the program has already been answered by Federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor.
Judge Taylor found that the program violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was passed in the 1970s to curb executive abuses that included spying on civil rights leaders and Members of Congress. FISA requires a warrant before the executive can wiretap Americans. Judge Taylor also found that the program violated the separation of powers because it circumvented Congress’s power to regulate presidential authority, and that it violated Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution. The government appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted a stay of the decision pending appeal.
Therefore it's not a question that the DOJ needs to answer, although Abu Gonzales has already tried when he said the Diggs-Taylors definition of freedom is "one utterly divorced from civic responsibility - is superficial and is itself a grave threat to the liberty and security of the American people."
So if this is what the Top Official at the DOJ says, just where does that leave this little inquiry?
The inquiry by Glenn A. Fine, the department's inspector general, will focus on the role of Justice prosecutors and agents in carrying out the warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency.
Oh.
"After conducting initial inquiries into the program, we have decided to open a program review that will examine the department's controls and use of information related to the program," Fine wrote in a letter dated Monday to House and Senate leaders on judiciary, intelligence and appropriations committees.
The review also will look at "the department's compliance with legal requirements governing the program," according to the four-paragraph letter obtained by The Associated Press.
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the agency welcomes the review: "We expect that this review will assist Justice Department personnel in ensuring that the department's activities comply with the legal requirements that govern the operation of the program."
Excuse me, what legal requirements? This program is in direct violation of FISA and federal law under 18 USC 3121 (Which prohibits use of "pen and trap devices" without a warrant) and 18 USC 2702 (Which prohibits companies such as AT&T from sharing their user data with the government without a warrant).
Congress has not passed any law authorizing this program, in fact the President is still asking them to - so exactly what "legal requirements" is Mr. Roehrkasse talking about?
And just how deep could this inquiry possibly go after the President personally squelched the last one by denying security clearances to the program. But Fine apparenly already has clearance...
Democrats also questioned the timing of the review. Fine's letter noted that his office asked the White House on Oct. 20 for additional security clearances that were approved just last week — following the Nov. 7 elections that gave Democrats control of Congress.
Noting Democrats' renewed power to subpoena Bush administration officials next year, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., questioned that Fine's investigation "is only coming now after the election as an attempt to appease Democrats" who have been critical of the NSA program.
Ya think?
Just so we don't forget who were really dealing with here - we've got a nice reminder from one of Reagan's cronies.
Former Reagan administration national security official Robert F. Turner, now associate director at the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia, said congressional demands for sensitive information about the program puts them at odds with long-standing presidential powers over the collection of foreign intelligence.
"It's good that the executive branch, on its own, is making sure that someone's not abusing this power," Turner said. "But when Congress usurps power vested in the president by the people through the Constitution, then it becomes the lawbreaker."
Que? How exactly does Congress break the law by requiring that the President not break the law?
Call me silly if you like, but I for one think this entire inquiry is one big CYA. They're trying to see where the bodies are buried before the Sixth Circuit hands them a stack of shovels. If illegally gathered evidence has found it's way into actual court cases - those cases could be severely compromised under the fruits of the poison tree doctine. Therefore it's better to know exactly what cases are in jeopardy and might need to be refiled with new data, rather than have to drop them entirely.
I could be wrong, but that's how I see it. Not much else makes sense.
Vyan
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