Double Rebuke for Bush as Judges Attack Terror Moves

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1223-05.htm

Published on Friday, December 23, 2005 by the Guardian / UK

Double Rebuke for Bush as Judges Attack Terror Moves

by Suzanne Goldenberg

President George Bush faced a rare challenge from the judiciary yesterday when two courts questioned the legality of his expansion of presidential powers in the war on terror.

In a startling rebuke, a federal appeals court refused to allow the transfer of a terror suspect, Jose Padilla, from military to civilian custody and strongly suggested that the Bush administration was trying to manipulate the judicial system.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that judges of the secret court established under the foreign intelligence surveillance act (Fisa) had demanded a briefing from Bush administration officials on why they believed it was legal to bypass their authority and eavesdrop on the telephone conversations and email of American citizens without a warrant.

The Fisa court had been in charge of issuing such warrants until 2002 when President Bush signed orders enabling the National Security Agency to monitor domestic communications without court oversight. The judges reportedly now fear that the information thus obtained by the NSA was then being used improperly to obtain wiretap approvals from Fisa courts.

..more..

[rzemanfl]

1. We need to start filing bar grievances against all the lawyers

involved in these illegal activities. When a few of them get their licenses pulled, maybe it will have some effect on the rest of them.

[G_j]

2. actually, I think

you may have a point there. :think:

[lonestarnot]

3. I would like to think this works, but it has been my experience that

unless, well they just don't seem to ever do much.

[rzemanfl]

4. I am sort of counting on them lying to or not cooperating with the

grievance investigations. If they just were to say they were following orders in order to keep their jobs, (i.e., for most of them the truth) that would be good too.

[lonestarnot]

5. Yes! Just as good.