The Associated Press is debunking the lies of the right when they try to say
Clinton broke the FISA law in the Aldrich Ames case 12 years ago.
[Scott] McClellan said the Clinton-Gore administration had engaged in
warrantless physical searches, and he cited an FBI search of the home of CIA
turncoat Aldrich Ames without permission from a judge. He said Clinton’s
deputy attorney general, Jamie Gorelick, had testified before Congress that
the president had the inherent authority to engage in physical searches
without warrants.“I think his hypocrisy knows no bounds,” McClellan said of Gore.
But at the time of the Ames search in 1993 and when Gorelick testified a
year later, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required warrants for
electronic surveillance for intelligence purposes, but did not cover
physical searches. The law was changed to cover physical searches in 1995
under legislation that Clinton supported and signed.Bush’s attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, made the same arguments as
McClellan during interviews Monday on CNN’s “Larry King Live” and Fox News
Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes.”
View complete article
here.
If this is Bush’s defense then Tom Delay should also face the charges that
got thrown out because the violation didn’t become law until after the fact.
Considering Gonzales is also trying to use this failed argument gives proof he
is not in the position to make the call if it is legal or not. He is purely
using his position as Attorney General for political gains.
What is interesting is to see how carefully crafted the words are from
McClellan and Gonzales. They do put the phrase “physical searches” in their
statements but that phrase is quickly left out once it hits the right wing
pundits. Of course I am talking about the top pundits out there like FOX news.
They quickly jumped on the “Clinton did it” bandwagon. If they want to use such
weak analogies then Bush should be impeached for the kiss on the cheek to
Harriett Miers because Clinton was impeached for a simple kiss also. Sure the
kiss was in a different place but oh well, these are the analogies the right
wants to use so lets use them.