It looks like Ralph Reeds past dealings with Abramoff are really taking a toll on his run for lieutenant Governor in Georgia: Twenty-one Republican state senators on Friday called for Ralph Reed to withdraw from the contest for lieutenant governor, declaring that his ties to Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff could jeopardize the re-election of Gov. […]
If you are interested in something not NSA hearing related,Raw Story has an exclusive up about gay soldiers in Iraq being ousted and discharged. We really need people in our military right now. Hell we will even take people in prison but if they are gay they need to stay away. We really are that […]
Senator Feinstein has just asked Gonzalez to pinpoint what in FISA gives them this authority. She said there are two provisions, one is the 15 days after a declaration of war and the other is the 72 hour window, which was changed since 9/11 to allow that extra time. He reference section 109 which does […]
There was a heckler in the crowd during the hearing. He started yelling that you must get a court order to wiretap. It provided for a great comical relief during a bunch of spin.
Senator Grassley has just said he can not understand why their is no outcry over the leaking of this program as compared to the outcry of the Valerie Plame leak. Can this guy be serious or is a member of the judiciary committee that blind to the law? He also said that if hypothetically the […]
Senator Kennedy said we are sending a message to the people conducting the taps they may be prosecuted for illegal taps, also we are sending a message to the telecommunication companies that they are under siege and could result in criminal prosecution and has already lead to a civil case. He also brought up the […]
Patrick Leahy asked if Gonzalez came to the conclusion that the authorization to use force gave the power to the President to authorize the taps before the authorization was passed by Congress. Gonzalez said he hadn’t come to the conclusion but would not answer if others had. The authorization for force was on September 14, […]
Specter just asked Gonzalez if when they do go to the FISA court for a warrant if they disclose that their information for the warrant was obtained by warrantless taps. Gonzalez would not answer because he didn’t feel comfortable going in to it. This was a very important question. If FISA is denying warrants because […]
The NSA hearings will start tomorrow at 9:30am eastern andGlenn Greenwald will be doing live blogging. If you are not near a television, the hearings can be watched onC-Span’s website.
According to a new article inTime Magazine, members of Senate on both sides of the aisle are considering a constitutional amendment that will limit the powers of the President at wartime. A source familiar with the nascent constitutional amendment says one version would make clear that any actions by the President as Commander in Chief […]