AP falsely claimed "government's eavesdropping powers" set to "expire in eight days"
SUMMARY: An Associated Press article falsely asserted that the U.S. government would lose its "eavesdropping powers" if Congress does not reauthorize them by February 1. In fact, only revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act made in August 2007 would expire.
A January 24 Associated Press report about the Senate debate on proposed revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) falsely asserted that the U.S. government would lose its "eavesdropping powers" if Congress does not reauthorize them by February 1. The report stated: "President Bush tried on Thursday to pressure congressional Democrats to extend and expand the government's eavesdropping powers, which expire in eight days. ... The law authorizes the administration to eavesdrop on phone calls and see the e-mail to and from suspected terrorists. Congress is bickering over terms of its extension." In fact, FISA, the principal law that "authorizes the administration to eavesdrop on phone calls and see the e-mail to and from suspected terrorists," does not expire on February 1. What expires are the August 2007 revisions to FISA made through the Protect America Act (PAA), which, in effect, expanded the government's powers to eavesdrop on Americans' domestic-to-foreign communications without a warrant, as Media Matters for America has noted. According to the PAA's "transition procedures," if those revisions expire on February 1, all new authorizations for surveillance would be governed by the FISA statute as it existed prior to the PAA revisions, while all current authorizations would remain in effect until their scheduled expiration date. Before Congress amended FISA in August 2007, the government could "eavesdrop on phone calls and see the e-mail to and from suspected terrorists," but needed to obtain a court order under most circumstances if the communications involved persons in the United States.
From the January 24 Associated Press report:
President Bush tried on Thursday to pressure congressional Democrats to extend and expand the government's eavesdropping powers, which expire in eight days.
Bush, in a written statement, said the law has allowed the intelligence community to monitor the communications of terrorists.
"Congress' action or lack of action on this important issue will directly affect our ability to keep Americans safe," Bush said. Vice President Dick Cheney spoke about the same issue in a speech on Wednesday.
The law authorizes the administration to eavesdrop on phone calls and see the e-mail to and from suspected terrorists. Congress is bickering over terms of its extension.
what's the difference? the fbi hasn't been paying it's bills and some of the wiretaps have been suspended by the phone company. more incompetence by the bush gang of keystone cops.
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080110/D8U35C500.html
Really showing the telecommunication companies support for this (sarcasim on) partiotic work (sarcasim off)unless they don't get their money of course.
Think Cheney yelled at anybody about this?
"Congress is bickering". I think that's called a "debate". So Congress is bickering while the FISA law "expires". Thank you AP for so faithfully reproducing Bush Administration spin and lies word for word.
"Before Congress amended FISA in August 2007, the government could "eavesdrop on phone calls and see the e-mail to and from suspected terrorists," but needed to obtain a court order under most circumstances if the communications involved persons in the United States."
Which is as it should be. I don't know why the Con's have sych a hard time grasping this! (Of course, if Al Gore or John Kerry was prez and wanted to do this, you can bet they'd all be howling to moon in protest!)
The lack of interest in this thread – and the issues surrounding it – is a perfect example of just why the Bush Administration is able to get away with the things they do.
A false “it doesn’t affect me” attitude by most of the public makes it easy for the Administration to play usurper with the constitution whenever and wherever they think no one is looking.
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
At the core, the center of our freedoms, our democracy is the presumption of privacy. No privacy assured, no freedoms guranteed!
This is the last thread of an argument left the White House, if you don't give us the authority to dictate our rule. If anyone thinks Dick Cheney's push to get the immunity for the telecoms has anything to do with protecting anyone by this administration's crimes, then they condemn us to authoritainism, and in Dick Cheney's world, Fascism.
Anyone whom would think this band of scoundrels have been illegally spying on Americans since May of 2001, months before 9/11/2001, and were not spying on political rivals, and haven't been using this power to influenance leaders of all sorts in the government, and to sway elections are fools in the way the Germans were willing to be fooled in the 30's.
We as citizens of the greatest democracy in human history have a responsibilty to stand and fight for our democracy from this kind of criminality. We must make them pay for their crimes. They must be prosecuted under the laws that they have been so contemptuous of for the past 7years.
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady