Justice Department: Prez Is Above The Law

If you ever wondered how the Bush administration sees itself, this morning’s New York Times made it clear. An article by Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, “Legal Rationale by Justice Dept. on Spying Effort”, tells the tale. Alberto R. Gonzales, the yes-man ass-kisser who was appointed Attorney General after the born-again ass-kisser John Ashcroft resigned, decided to counter the recent negative uproar over the NSA wiretaps with a proclamation from on high. The Congressional Research Service found that Congress did not intend to authorize warrantless wiretaps when it gave Bush the authority to invade Afghanistan. So Gonzales had a 42-page report drawn up by the Justice Department which says the prez had been placed “at the zenith of his powers” at the time he had authorized the wiretaps. Therefore it was totally legal and prudent to order the NSA to eavesdrop on American citizens. Obviously, the Justice Department got down on its knees in the preferred Bush administration position and serviced Gonzales like a $2 hooker in a back-alley trash heap. The NYT says the JD report cites the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, Republican and Democratic presidents, scholarly papers and court cases to justify the wiretaps. And into the bargain, the JD gave the President all the authority of king, czar and little Fuhrer when its report claimed, “some presidential powers, particularly in the area of national security, are simply beyond Congress' ability to regulate.” So there it is. Throw out checks and balances and shit-can advice and consent of the Senate. The Justice Department has just ratified autocratic rule by a delusional mental defective who gets his orders from a bunch of criminally insane imperialists. Will it fly? No. The dean of the Temple University law school Robert Reinstein said that the eavesdropping program is "a pretty straightforward case where the president is acting illegally." Reinstein said the administration’s legal arguments were weak. He said the court would ultimately shoot down the wiretap program as unconstitutional. So why was this report from the Jusitice Department ordered by the Attorney General? Is it because end-runs must be attempted to satisfy the big-money fans rooting in the stands? Or is the entire Bush administration loony as the psycho ward at Bellevue? I’m going to go with loony.