Legal analysts are weighing in on the latest Bush domestic spying scandal. The political hacks at the Bush Department of Justice think that spying on American citizens is perfectly acceptable. Of course they do. However, people who actually know and care about the rule of law, think it's illegal:
The U.S. government's secret collection of Americans' phone records may not breach the Fourth Amendment's privacy guarantee, legal analysts said Thursday, but it could violate federal surveillance and telecommunication laws.Just another example of Bush breaking the law.
More broadly, USA TODAY's report about the National Security Agency's deal with three major phone companies fed a debate over whether the Bush administration is going too far — and setting dangerous precedents — in trying to protect the nation from terrorism.
"This may well be another example where the Bush administration, in secret, decided to bypass the courts and contravene federal law," said Georgetown University law professor David Cole.
The USA Today reporters better hire good lawyers. Remember that the Bush administration has vowed to use espionage statutes to prosecute reporters who report on leaked "national security" issues.
Spying on citizens and prosecuting reporters -- that's so Soviet.
