Bush Jabs Congress Over Spy Bill Impasse

Says U.S. In "More Danger Of An Attack" Because Congress Hasn't Extended Surveillance Law

(CBS/AP)  President Bush said Friday that "our country is in more danger of an attack" because of Congress' failure to extend a law that makes it easier for the government to spy on foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States.

Democrats, in turn, accused Bush of fear-mongering and misrepresenting the facts.

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met with Republican congressional leaders in the Oval Office to discuss the impasse with the Democratic-led House. Lawmakers left Thursday for a 12-day recess without acting on the law, which expires at midnight Saturday. The president said Congress should complete work on the bill as soon as possible.

Bush argues that without the extension, the intelligence community will not have the tools necessary for protecting the nation from terrorism. Democrats, equally adamant, say he has the authority he needs to intercept terrorist communications, even if the law expires.

"American citizens must understand, clearly understand that there's still a threat on the homeland. There's still an enemy which would like to do us harm," Bush said. "We've got to give our professionals the tools they need, to be able to figure out what the enemy is up to so we can stop it."

"By blocking this piece of legislation, our country is more in danger of an attack," he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a statement Friday, said Bush was "misrepresenting the facts on our nation's electronic surveillance capabilities." She said his refusal to support a temporary extension of the law "can only mean he knows our intelligence agencies will be able to do all the wiretapping they need to do to protect the nation."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in a separate statement, said that the expiration of the law does not threaten the safety of Americans. "The president and his allies know this," Reid said. "It is time for them to stop fear-mongering and start being honest with the American people about national security."

Republicans insist there's no time to waste. "The Democratic leaders ought to be held accountable for their inaction," House Republican leader John Boehner told reporters after the White House meeting.

Behind both sides' rhetoric, the issue of what the government can and can't do is complicated by a quirk in the temporary eavesdropping law adopted by Congress last August. It allows the government to initiate wiretaps for up to one year against a wide range of targets. It also explicitly compels telecommunications companies to comply with the orders, and protects them from civil lawsuits that may be filed against them for doing so.

The administration contends the companies will be reluctant to facilitate eavesdropping on foreign terror suspects if the firms face the threat of class action lawsuits, reports CBS News correspondent Peter Maer.

While the wiretap orders can go on for a year from the time they started, the compliance orders and the liability protections go away when the law expires Saturday night, says Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell.

"There is no longer a way to compel the private sector to help us," he said Thursday in an Associated Press interview.

Even if the law expires, the government can get an order from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to compel their cooperation. That court was created 30 years ago for just such a purpose. But McConnell rejects that option. He says the process of getting a court order ties intelligence agents up in red tape.

The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires court permission to tap wires inside the United States. Changes in technology since then mean much of the world's computer and phone traffic passes through the United States, much of it on fiber-optic cable. Successive court cases say court orders are needed to listen in on any of them, McConnell said.

To get a court order, intelligence agents have to prove they have "probable cause" to believe a target is foreign agent or terrorist before being allowed to tap a line inside the United States, even if the communication originates and ends in a foreign country.

It is difficult for intelligence agents piecing together shreds of information to get enough to merit probable cause, he said. By the time they can amass enough information to do that, the phone number they wanted to track might already be obsolete, McConnell said.

"More than likely we would miss the very information we need to prevent some horrendous act from taking place in the United States," he said.

The FISA law does make provisions for fleeting targets when there is not time to fill out the paperwork. Within a few days, though, the paperwork must be completed and probable cause proved to get an order approved.

The easy solution, say Democratic congressional leaders, is to extend the current law long enough to allow the House and Senate to work out the differences in their respective surveillance bills. The House finished its version in October, but the Senate did not finish until this week, pushing Congress hard up against the deadline.

The law had been set to expire on Feb. 1. The White House reluctantly agreed to a 15-day extension but refuses to approve any more, and has appealed to House leaders to simply approve the version approved by the Senate, which includes the legal immunity for telecom companies the president wants.

The immunity provision protects phone companies that helped the government in its warrantless wiretapping program conducted outside the authority of the FISA court, a feature the House intentionally left out.

[liberalme]

The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to be believed, for the vast masses of a nation are in the depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are consciously and intentionally bad. The primitive simplicity of their minds renders them a more easy prey to a big lie than a small one, for they themselves often tell little lies, but would be ashamed to tell big lies.
-- Adolf Hitler''s "Mein Kampf" (1925)

[offtheback]

Anyone who looks at what''''s going on can''''t help but be impressed at how gullible they think us Americans are. Guess what? We''''re paying attention, and we''''re calling you on your lies and fear-mongering.
Posted by pakaal

51 million Americans can''t be wrong, can they?
Gullible? Americans are gullible as stuff.
Voted for GB.
Continue to do business with Haliburton and the like knowing they are ripping us off daily.
Surrender our freedoms bit by bit.
Believe the two party system is not designed to devide and conquer.
Gullible? Heack yes we are.

[pakaal]

"the compliance orders and the liability protections go away when the law expires Saturday night" says Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell. "There is no longer a way to compel the private sector to help us," he said Thursday in an Associated Press interview.

Wait, I thought this was about the telcoms doing their Patriotic duty to save America? But now, according to McConnell we''re actually COMPELLING them to spy?

If that''s true, then how was Qwest able to deny the feds access to their network, citing the fact that the feds didn''t have any court order to do so?

See, the fundamental problem here is that the Bush Administration can''t get their lies, I mean their stories straight. Anyone who looks at what''s going on can''t help but be impressed at how gullible they think us Americans are. Guess what? We''re paying attention, and we''re calling you on your lies and fear-mongering.

[pakaal]

Bush says he''ll veto any extension of the current law. If by chance the terrorists attack come 12:01 am tomorro morning, America must finally take action against the one person who could have extended the law but didn''t: George W. Bush.

If this bill was as important to our safety as he said, Bush had only ONE option - bite the bullet and sign the bill as it stands.

The fact that he didn''t sign off means one of two things; politics are more important to him than American lives, or that he''s lying about there being "more danger of an attack". He''s either dangerously un-American, or he''s an abject liar.

[pakaal]

February 14: Bush makes a dramatic statement, says he''s prepared to delay his Africa tour over this bill because it''s that important to ensure American lives are protected.

February 16: Bush decides he''s not that interested in ensuring American lives are protected after all, and goes on Africa trip.

Way to prove your point George!

He knows as well as the rest of us that the (completely up-to-date) FISA procedures are perfectly adequate. His grandstanding over, off he flies, as planned.

[j-whitman]

I''m listening to McCain lie about the spying bill blaming it on Democrat Congress, saying democrats are allowing Evil Al Queda prevail in the world

Republicans in the Senate held that bill untill 2 days prior to sending it to the House -- Then they shot down a 21 day extension.

[j0hnwi11iams]

President ***, need I remind you that:

1) You threatened to VETO any bill that does not include retroactive immunity, thus making YOUR priorities very clear.

2) The Telecoms are in clear violation of the law, what LAWS did YOU break in forcing them to comply?

[the74blaster]

Another MORON.ORG member. Go ahead LIB, call our ranking general in Iraq a traitor again. Show America what worthless pieces of shiite you LIBS really are.

Posted by mbcsmith,

Why don''t you take a look at the events of the last 7 years and ask yourself why you still follow the GOP party line. Have any of Bush%u2019s justifications for his decision ever been realized?

I don''t know about you but if someone fools me once I will not trust them the second time around.

Basically..fool me once..shame on you...fool me twice..shame on me.

The reason I cannot support any GOP nominee because they blindly supported Bush on every vote during his presidency.

The GOP has lost all credibility as far as I am concerned.

[j-whitman]

george2221,,, I think someone threw a net over him

[j-whitman]

FOUR MORE OF THE SAME VOTE INSANE McCAIN

[j-whitman]

mbcsmith,,,,, As Bush is lying about sucess today in Africa ---- Our Statue of Liberty is Rolling on the Floor Laughing Out Loud

[j-whitman]

mbcsmith,,,, You really have to stop accusing & insinuating that our generas are lying.

[mbcsmith]

i wonder how many more ways an ''''imbecile'''' can say he hates facts, and the truth...


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Posted by actornaught at 12:36 PM : Feb 16, 2008


Another MORON.ORG member. Go ahead LIB, call our ranking general in Iraq a traitor again. Show America what worthless pieces of shiite you LIBS really are.

[j-whitman]

mbcsmith,,,, Speaking of a little water --- McCain Lied & Flip-Flopped,,, He voted for Torture

[actornaught]

i wonder how many more ways an ''imbecile'' can say he hates facts, and the truth...

[j-whitman]

mbcsmith,,,, Take a Prozac then go to the men''s room, Wide Stance is waiting for you

[mbcsmith]

Buy a clue, mbc and bob, w is lying out his bunghole. Read the article and/or keep up with the topic. Also, new cases simply require a warrant.

Buy a clue.


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Posted by actornaught at 12:20 PM : Feb 16, 2008


Fact is the LIBS are Al-quaidas best friends. Don''t want to pursue them, listen to them or pour a little water in their face. LIBS just don''t get it. VOTE LIB, VOTE HATE.

[actornaught]

yep, short for ''imbecile''....

[mbcsmith]

Yeah, Halliburton, KBR, and unjustifiable war. No financial accountability or oversight. NO Mission Accomplish or Slam Dunk. The Bush/Cheney Admins are scaring me economically. The same morons try to sell our ports, not once, but twice to Dubai. That is not patriotic!



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Posted by zoe2006 at 12:21 PM : Feb 16, 2008


If you HAD any FACTS I would refute them. More LIB LIES and HATRED. Get a life you loser. VOTE LIB, VOTE HATE!

[j-whitman]

mbcsmith --- You Bush ball suckers have made this country much less safe