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December 19, 2005
Another Lie from Dick Cheney
What I'm about to say is a bit laden with lawyerly technical jargon, but stay with me:
ARGHHHH!!!! $%$#(**&^%$#%^#_)(* GRRRR!!!!
The Administration did have this capability before 9/11, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. All they needed to do was seek and obtain a warrant from a special intelligence court. This court issued warrants in every one of the many cases presented to it, except a couple of times in 2003.
Liar.
Posted by Eric at December 19, 2005 7:26 AM
Comments
Pants on fire.
Posted by: David Marshall at December 19, 2005 9:12 AM
As Orin correctly states, the legal issues surrounding these wiretaps are "murky." It's a fair distance from "murky" to "lawless," (even if you can see it from there) and a mature (and fair) rendition would duly note that fact. You're wildly overstating your case, Eric. Perhaps you're spending too much time reading stuff written by first-year law students...
With respect to your frustration with Cheney: it's not clear from the limited context provided in the article you cite that the "capability" he's referring to was strictly a legal capability. It is entirely possible that he meant the technical capability or even mere manpower or some combination of those capabilities and others. Certainly it seems reasonable to think that had we actually intercepted the international telephone calls of the 9/11 terrorists we might have prevented that attack.
Posted by: lostingotham at December 19, 2005 1:56 PM
Unfortunately El Commandante repeated the lie this morning during his petulance hour.
Posted by: WillR at December 19, 2005 2:37 PM
Sorry - did you just say describe yourself as a "bin laden with lawyerly and technical jargon"?
Watch out for the wiretaps, bub.
Posted by: Hprof at December 19, 2005 10:54 PM