AM Feed - August 18: Court Rules Wiretapping Program is Illegal
Hot Topics
- Another Bush administration program has run afoul of the law: Yesterday a federal judge ruled that the Bush team’s warrantless wiretapping program violates the rights to free speech and privacy, and halted controversial practice. The administration has already announced plans to appeal the decision. This White House has systematically attempted to seize additional powers for the executive branch, and this secretive surveillance program fit right into this design. But, like the administration’s similarly controversial program for handling detainees, the judicial branch has once again been forced to step in. [link]
- Stop us if you’ve heard this one before – President Bush’s foreign policy is drawing criticism. A group of former diplomats and retired generals has warned Bush that military action against Iran would further upset the Middle East, and urged him to open negotiations with the country. Thus far, the Bush administration has refused to deal directly with both Iran and Syria. “This administration by refusing to talk to the Syrians, to the Iranians, to the North Koreans has in my view jeopardized our national security,” said Morton Halperin, a former State Department director of policy planning who was one of the 21 signers of the open letter to President Bush. [link]
- It’s been a long time now since news of Jack Abramoff’s corrupt lobbying practices first broke, but all the headlines about the House Lobbying Scandal haven’t really spurred better behavior among members of Congress. Case in point: Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) has gone out of his way to help the clients of his older brother Joseph, a Washington lobbyist. Cannon recently intervened at his brother’s request to help a client with an Internet contract that could be worth up to $1.3 billion. Of course, Rep. Cannon has an extra interest in Joseph’s success as well – his brother still owes him some $250,000 from an unsuccessful Senate run 14 years ago. [link]
Morning Snark
- If Rep. Cannon (R-UT) was going to go out of his way to help his brother, he should have at least held out for a luxury golf trip to Scotland. Didn’t Rep. Ney teach him anything?
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