In response to a letter from Senator Schumer seeking the Administration's view of the NSA domestic surveillance program in light of the Court's decision in Hamdan, the Deparment of Justice has submitted this letter, in which it contends:
-- That the AUMF overrides FISA (even though, per Hamdan, it does not override the UCMJ);
-- That, in any event, Congress has no Article I power to enact FISA, at least with respect to the President's wartime surveillance practices (even though Congress did have the power to prescribe limits on military commissions);
and,
-- That even if Congress did have an Article I power to enact FISA, the President's Article II power as Commander-in-Chief and as the "Executive" entitles him to disregard FISA in wartime (a position DOJ contends is still valid because Hamdan does not even require the Administration to comply with the UCMJ if it conflicts with his Commander-in-Chief powers or his constitutional duty to protect the nation).
There has been a lot of talk about Hamdan being the modern-day Youngstown. Youngstown, however, had the advantage of a President with a modicum of modesty.
Youngstown's concurrence was also written by a man who served as attorney general and headed the Nuremberg trials, i.e., someone who knew what he was talking about. Justice Stevens is an armchair elite who is skeptical of al Qadea's existence.
Posted by: Speaking Truth to Power | July 11, 2006 at 07:07 PM
Justice Stevens is a World War II veteran: He served in the Navy from 1942 to 1945, and was awarded a Bronze Star. Have you been awarded a Bronze Star, "Speaking Truth to Power"?
Posted by: Don't Be Silly | July 11, 2006 at 07:31 PM
He was also appointed to the federal judiciary by Richard Nixon, but that doesn't excuse Justice Stevens' fealty to al-Qaeda. And, just a Bronze Star makes him less heroic than John Kerry.
Posted by: You're the Silly One | July 13, 2006 at 01:24 AM
Speaking Truth FOR power is more like it.
Posted by: brewmn | July 13, 2006 at 01:31 PM
Yes, because criticizing the SUPREME Court is speaking on behalf of power.
Posted by: Speaking Truth To Power | July 15, 2006 at 06:47 PM
This comment thread really degenerated into a partisan squabble very quickly.
I just got off the phone with Schumer's office and they expect that S. 2453 will be taken up in the judiciary committee on Wednesday.
That gives us a little time to urge our Senators to stand up for our 4th Amendment rights.
Posted by: liberal elite | July 20, 2006 at 08:43 AM