Here are the specific laws Bush broke with his warrant-less wiretaps.

[brainshrub]

The reason Bush needed to give his little speech today was because he knows he's in a lot of hot water right now. Ordering a warrant-less wiretap is a major breach of federal law and public trust. The material below was compiled by Doug De Clue, one of the bloggers at Brainshrub.com:

Which laws were broken when President Bush authorized the NSA to wiretap without a warrant.

Listening in without a warrant isn't just impolite, it's a felony.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (USC Title 50 Chapter 36 Subchapter 1) specifically prohibits the government from doing what the President has secretly ordered and it is a serious felony with major penalties.

The President has publicly confessed to this felony on national television. He ordered government agencies to engage in spying on thousands of American citizens without a warrant when the Congress made specific provisions in law to cover all circumstances, even emergency situations so that the government could listen in for up to 72 hours before obtaining a warrant, plenty of time to find and convince a judge.

There is no excuse for this action, yet the President has done so anyways.

That the President has colluded with others to do so, also makes this a conspiracy subject to fine and imprisonment up to 5 years per count under USC TITLE 18 PART I CHAPTER 19 § 371.

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Entire article at: http://www.brainshrub.com/president-wiretap

[kestrel91316]

1. Silly, don't you know that Bush can do anything he wants, any time

he wants, with NO CONSEQUENCES?? If he does it, by definition that makes it legal. He is above the law.

[brainshrub]

2. But if he authorized this, there is nowhere to hide.

With everything else Bush has done, there has been a level of plausible deny-ability.

A few examples:
9/11 - The president was just as surprised as everyone.
Iraq - The intelligence was bad.
Torture - A few bad apples working independently.
Plame leak - An underling leaked the information.

However, with the wiretaps Bush directly implicated himself. There is nowhere to hide, and he knows it.

At the very least, it means that he will be open to lawsuits from citizens who he has illegally used his office to spy on.

I'm not so optimistic that this is going to bring the House of Bush down, but it could be a major hassle for them.

[emulatorloo]

3. kick n/t

[brainshrub]

4. Thanks. There is no shade of grey on this issue.

I don't think DUers understand how important this law is. There is no shade of grey on this issue.

From a legal and political standpoint, warrantless wiretaps would be like finding out that Bush hasn't been paying his paying taxes for the last ten years.

[emulatorloo]

5. well damn it then, I am kicking again. . .n/t

[brainshrub]

6. :)