A lot of the background of the Bush/Cheney illegal, warrantless domestic spying program has been reported before, now there is a new book that tells the story with some additional detail (and quite a bit of dramatic writing) that is excerpted in the Washington Post.
One nice thing is that the Post put in the footnotes as well. Here, at least, is for-real evidence that should silence anyone trying to pretend that the Bush-Cheney administration did not knowingly and eagerly broke the law and sought to continue to break it by spying illegally on Americans, and that they did their best to keep the program secret even within the Bush administration from officials otherwise charged with counterterrorism.
It is pretty clear that Jack Goldsmith must be credited with almost singlehandedly saving privacy, freedom, and the rule of law in the United States from the reckless and lawless actions of Cheney and his attack dog Addington. The basics were laid out in Goldsmith's fine and ironically titled book, The Terror Presidency, but here the story is broadened to include more prominently the honorable actions of Comey and even Ashcroft.
"The staging had been arranged for maximum impact. Cheney sat at the head of Card's rectangular table, pivoting left to face the acting attorney general. The two men were close enough to touch. Card sat grimly at Cheney's right, directly across from Comey. There was plenty of eye contact all around.
This program, Cheney said, was vital. Turning it off would leave us blind. Hayden, the NSA chief, pitched in: Even if the program had yet to produce blockbuster results, it was the only real hope of discovering sleeper agents before they could act.
"How can you possibly be reversing course on something of this importance after all this time?" Cheney asked [19].
Comey held his ground. The program had to operate within the law. The Justice Department knew a lot more now than it had before, and Ashcroft and Comey had reached this decision together.
"I will accept for purposes of discussion that it is as valuable as you say it is," Comey said. "That only makes this more painful. It doesn't change the analysis. If I can't find a lawful basis for something, your telling me you really, really need to do it doesn't help me."
"Others see it differently," Cheney said.
There was only one of those, really. John Yoo had been out of the picture for nearly a year. It was all Addington.
"The analysis is flawed, in fact facially flawed," Comey said. "No lawyer reading that could reasonably rely on it."
Gonzales said nothing. Addington stood by the window, over Cheney's shoulder. He had heard a bellyful.
"Well, I'm a lawyer and I did," Addington said, glaring at Comey.
"No good lawyer," Comey said [20].
In for a dime, in for a dollar.
Addington started disputing the particulars. Now he was on Jack Goldsmith's turf. From across the room the head of the Office of Legal Counsel jumped in. And right there in front of the big guys, the two of them bickered in the snarly tones of a couple who knew all of each other's lines. "
One nice thing is that the Post put in the footnotes as well. Here, at least, is for-real evidence that should silence anyone trying to pretend that the Bush-Cheney administration did not knowingly and eagerly broke the law and sought to continue to break it by spying illegally on Americans, and that they did their best to keep the program secret even within the Bush administration from officials otherwise charged with counterterrorism.
It is pretty clear that Jack Goldsmith must be credited with almost singlehandedly saving privacy, freedom, and the rule of law in the United States from the reckless and lawless actions of Cheney and his attack dog Addington. The basics were laid out in Goldsmith's fine and ironically titled book, The Terror Presidency, but here the story is broadened to include more prominently the honorable actions of Comey and even Ashcroft.
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