[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Message from Senator Barack Obama

[Robert Naiman]

He feels our pain. Is that not enough?

For a U of C professor, his command of the mother tongue is a little
lacking, I must say.

"The question is whether the president understood the law and
knowingly flaunted it..."

No one would accuse the President of having flaunted FISA. The
question is whether he flouted it.


On 7/5/06, Morton K. Brussel <mkb4 at mac.com> wrote:
>
> FYI. There are two sides to the story, he says, so we shouldn't censure, or
> --god forbid-impeach the president. --mkb
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: senator_obama at obama.senate.gov
> Date: July 5, 2006 11:59:03 AM CDT
> To: mkb4 at mac.com
> Subject: Message from Senator Barack Obama
>
>
>
> Dear Morton:
>
> Thank you for writing about Senator Russ Feingold's proposal to censure
> President Bush. I understand your strong feelings on this issue. While I
> share your frustration and anger, I do not think censure is justified at
> this time.
>
> I agree with Senator Feingold that the Administration's attitude toward
> congressional oversight and the FISA law has been cavalier and arrogant. We
> are a nation of laws, and those laws should be applied to all of us, from
> humblest citizen to the president of the United States. No president should
> be allowed to knowingly and willing flout our laws, and I believe the
> President exceeded his authority with his domestic wiretapping program. The
> justifications offered – that the president possesses inherent presidential
> authority under Article II, or was granted that authority in the 2001
> Authorization to Use Military Force -- seem to contradict prior precedent
> and our constitutional design.
>
> But my and Senator Feingold's view is not unanimous. Some constitutional
> scholars and lower court opinions support the president's argument that he
> has inherent authority to go outside the bounds of the law in monitoring the
> activities of suspected terrorists. The question is whether the president
> understood the law and knowingly flaunted it, or whether he and his aides,
> in good faith, interpreted their authority more broadly than I and others
> believe the law allows. Ultimately, this debate must be resolved by the
> courts.
>
> Also, a censure resolution does nothing to deal with the underlying problem
> of unchecked executive power. It would not force the president to modify his
> domestic surveillance program or force the Senate Intelligence Committee to
> do its job. In order to do that, Congress must reassert its constitutional
> role in overseeing the domestic surveillance program. And it should bring
> the warrantless wiretapping program back under the authority of the court
> established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Therefore,
> my focus is on crafting an effective surveillance program that both combats
> terrorism and contains meaningful judicial review of wiretapping, which is
> the most effective way to restore balance between the battle against
> terrorism and the rule of law.
>
> Finally, I can assure you that your opinion is important to me, and I hope
> my opinion is important to you. I will continue to try to bring my best
> judgment to the issues before the Senate, and let the people of Illinois
> make their best judgment on my service to the state.
>
> Again, thank you for writing. I will closely follow the hearing on Senator
> Feingold's bill taking place in the Judiciary Committee this week to see if
> any further information surfaces that might impact my decision.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Barack Obama
> United States Senator
>
>
> P.S. Our system does not allow direct response to this email. However, if
> you would like to contact me again, please use the form on the website:
> http://obama.senate.gov/contact/
>
> Stay up to date with Barack's work in the Senate and on issues of importance
> to Illinois. Subscribe to the weekly podcast here:
> http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/
>
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>
>
>


-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org