FISA Judges Rule for Bush

The Washington Times carries a story sure to be blacklisted by the MSM. Can you imagine how far above the fold on the front page in wide headlines this article would be in the NYT, LAT and WaPo if the FISA judges had ruled AGAINST the Bush anti-terrorist wiretaps?

A panel of former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges yesterday told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush did not act illegally when he created by executive order a wiretapping program conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA).
The five judges testifying before the committee said they could not speak specifically to the NSA listening program without being briefed on it, but that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not override the president's constitutional authority to spy on suspected international agents under executive order.
"If a court refuses a FISA application and there is not sufficient time for the president to go to the court of review, the president can under executive order act unilaterally, which he is doing now," said Judge Allan Kornblum, magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and an author of the 1978 FISA Act. "I think that the president would be remiss exercising his constitutional authority by giving all of that power over to a statute."

Of course, the Joint Inquiry of the House and Senate said in 2003 in a strong statement that goes as follows

12. Finding: During the summer of 2001, when the Intelligence Community was bracing for an imminent al-Qa’ida attack, difficulties with FBI applications for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance and the FISA process led to a diminished level of coverage of suspected al-Qa’ida operatives in the United States. The effect of these difficulties was compounded by the perception that spread among FBI personnel at Headquarters and the field offices that the FISA process was lengthy and fraught with peril.

"If not addressed, these weaknesses will continue to undercut U.S. counter terrorist efforts." [xvi]

This statement signed by Republicans and Democrats criticizing the FISA process has also never seen the broad dissemination which it deserves, because once again, the MSM tilts against Bush and serves as an unregistered lobbyist for the Democratic Party.