DNC: "There He Goes Again"

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release
December 19, 2005

Contact: Karen Finney - 202-863-8148

"There He Goes Again"

Latest Part of Bush's PR Offense Relies on Tired Rhetoric

Washington, DC - With his credibility still in shambles, President Bush
continued his PR blitz by holding a rare press conference this morning in which
he refused respond to the widespread, bipartisan concerns about the Patriot Act
and his decision to ignore the laws governing national security and use the
country's intelligence services to spy on Americans. Democratic National
Committee Communications Director Karen Finney issued the following statement:

"With his credibility in tatters, President Bush may have fielded questions,
but he failed to explain why he may have ignored both federal law and the
Constitution in ordering the NSA to spy on Americans. This disturbing abuse of
power has become a disturbing hallmark of the Bush administration over the past
five years. The President now seems to be hiding behind a false claim that he
briefed members of Congress.

"In the spirit of the President's newfound candor, we call upon him to correct
the record, explain why members of Congress were left in the dark and support
an investigation into this secret spying program. He must also address the
growing concern among both Republicans and Democrats about the Patriot Act.
America deserves better than a lame duck President expanding and abusing his
power."

While Only 5 Monitoring Requests Have Been Denied in 25 Years, Bush Sidestepped
the Law; Merely Assured Americans He Could Without Giving Reasons.

Reporter: Getting back to the domestic spying issue for a moment, according to
FISA's own records, it's received 19,000 requests for search warrants since
1979 and rejected just five of them. It also operates in secret, and security
shouldn't be concerned, and can be enacted retroactively. Given such a powerful
tool is at your disposal, why did you see fit to sidetrack that process?

President Bush: We used the process to monitor. Also, this is a different area,
war, Stretch. A war where people are exchanging phone numbers and phone calls
and we have to be quick to detect. And, it requires quick action. Without
revealing the operating details of our program, I just want to assure the
American people: one, I've got the authority to do this* 12/19/05]

Larry Craig is from Los Angeles? Republican Senators Also Did Not Support
Reauthorization of the Patriot Act. According to the New York Times, "* Senator
Larry Craig, Republican of Idaho, is among those backing the filibuster.
Another Republican backer of the filibuster, Senator John E. Sununu of New
Hampshire, said: 'In my state, I think there's pretty strong support for
protecting civil liberties during times of war and peace.'" Other Republican
Senators who voted against reauthorization included Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

**********

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.
org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.