President Bush Caught Eavesdropping

According to the Wall Street Journal, “President Bush said Saturday he personally has authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. more than 30 times since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks…” In response to the release of this information, President Bush stated in a radio address from the White House Roosevelt Room that, “(t)his is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security.” The president has lashed out against government leaders for leaking this information and will address the country this evening to discuss Iraq and, I’m sure, this scandal.

The crux of the issue is not the constitutionality of the eavesdropping program (because the Patriot Act allows it), but whether or not the president has the authority to authorize it. I’m no lawyer, but the answer seems unmistakably simple: NO.

Title II, Section 201 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) of 2001, “grants authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to terrorism.” The law giving the muscle to this portion of the Patriot Act is 18USC2516(1), which states:

“The Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, or any Assistant Attorney General, any acting Assistant Attorney General, or any Deputy Assistant Attorney General or acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division specially designated by the Attorney General, may authorize an application to a Federal judge of competent jurisdiction for, and such judge may grant in conformity with section 2518 of this chapter an order authorizing or approving the interception of wire or oral communications by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a Federal agency having responsibility for the investigation of the offense as to which the application is made, when such interception may provide or has provided evidence of…”

emphasis added

The authorization for this eavesdropping program must come from a Federal judge; there’s no provision allowing the president to act independently in this matter. I believe President Bush overstepped his authority and am interested to see what happens next. I also believe we’ve seen the end of the Patriot Act as it stands today.

As controversial as the Patriot Act was, I believed it was necessary to protect Americans against terrorists. There were checks and balances written into the act that sufficiently guarded individual liberty, but make no mistake, we gave up some of that liberty in the name of security. Recognizing the potential for abuse of power, I was willing to give the president some latitude in fighting the war on terror. I was wrong. To sacrifice liberty, even in the name of security, is wrong.