response 22 of 404:

Dec 28 15:43 UTC 2005

ACLU calls for action.  This could get uglier than Watergate before its 
all over.  Bush can't just decide which laws apply to him and which 
don't:

WASHINGTON - In a formal request to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, 
the American Civil Liberties Union today called for the immediate 
appointment of an outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute 
any criminal acts and violations of laws as a result of the National 
Security Agency s surveillance of domestic targets as authorized by 
President Bush. 

"President Bush s disregard and disrespect for the Constitution are 
evident, but in America, we are all bound by the rule of law," said 
Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director. "The president took an oath 
to  preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United 
States.  He cannot use a claim of seeking to preserve our nation to 
undermine the rules that serve as our foundation. The Attorney General, 
who may have been involved with the formulation of this policy, must 
appoint an outside special counsel to let justice be served."

In its letter, the ACLU called on the Attorney General to "appoint an 
outside special counsel with the independence to investigate and 
prosecute any and all criminal acts committed by any member of the 
Executive Branch in the warrantless electronic surveillance of people 
in the United States over the past four years by the NSA," noting 
that, "such crimes are serious felonies and they need to be fully and 
independently investigated."

An outside special counsel is the only way to ensure that all those who 
authorized the warrantless electronic surveillance, or engaged in this 
electronic interception or monitoring, are held accountable for 
committing serious violations of the law. The Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act of 1978 states that electronic surveillance is only 
permissible following "a search warrant or court order." The statements 
of the president and other officials make it clear that domestic 
surveillance, without court approval or review, has occurred and will 
continue to occur.

The ACLU also rejected the White House position that the "Authorization 
for Use of Military Force" resolutions passed by Congress granted the 
president the broad authority to circumvent the Fourth Amendment. As 
then-White House Counsel, Attorney General Gonzales may have, along 
with other legal advisors to the president, offered interpretations of 
the law to encourage the president to authorize the NSA to engage in 
domestic surveillance. His possible involvement only further 
underscores the need for an independent investigation.

Additionally, the ACLU noted warrantless domestic surveillance was 
unnecessary, as well as illegal. FISA already contains a provision to 
permit the government to retroactively apply for a wiretap order in 
cases of emergencies. The government had legal means at its disposal to 
engage in the very surveillance it conducted through the NSA, 
procedures that had some judicial oversight and review.

There have already been some calls from Congress that the legality of 
the president s actions must be examined. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), 
chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has committed to conduct 
oversight hearings on the NSA's actions. However, no other 
Congressional committees, particularly the Intelligence committees, 
have committed to conducting inquiries or oversight hearings into the 
matter.

The ACLU s call for an independent special counsel follows its 
expedited records request on Tuesday, under the Freedom of Information 
Act, to the NSA, the Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence 
Agency for information about the NSA's program of warrantless spying on 
Americans.

"The president cannot use the pursuit of national security as a carte 
blanche to undermine the very freedoms that define America," said 
Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative 
Office. "This administration - like that of President Nixon - has 
apparently secretly adopted a legal view of the Executive Branch s 
power that is unbounded. A commitment to the Constitution and our laws 
demand an independent investigation."