Saturday, May 13, 2006 · Last updated 6:36 p.m. PT
Experts debate Bush's use of his powersBy TOM RAUM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has made broad use of his executive powers: authorizing
warrantless wiretaps, collecting telephone records on millions of Americans, holding
suspected terrorists overseas without legal protections. His administration even
is considering using the military to patrol the U.S. border.
Congress is on notice from the president that he will not enforce parts of legislation
he believes interfere with his constitutional authority.
These are extraordinary times, for sure, and the president says he is acting to safeguard
the country. But Democrats and some Republicans, along with human rights activists and
legal scholars, suggest Bush has gone too far in stretching presidential powers.
"I do think the president has pushed the envelope," said Georgetown University political
scientist Stephen J. Wayne. "He seems so determined for another act of terrorism not
to occur on his watch that he has forgotten the constitutional protections that most
Americans value as highly as they value their security."