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March 10, 2007

Bush's National Security Gift

T
he president has pledged "swift action," according to WaPo, in addressing the FBI's abuses of National Security Letters -- which really are just an administrative subpoenas that, by statute, require no judicial or even local U.S. Attorney oversight. [That was a great idea.]

Let's be clear before going on. WaPo chose the phrase "swift action." But that's not what Bush said.

He pledged only to move "as quickly as possible." [All deliberate speed, anyone?]

Bush should consider the FBI's screw-ups manna from heaven. Not only has his domestic spying become an after-thought. When did that stop, by the way? [Oh, that's right. A FISA judge issued some sort of double, super-secret order that no American without the highest security clearance is entitled to see approving, allegedly, Bush's entire domestic-spying program -- operational detail after all. No abuses with that program.]

But DOJ-OIG's report ripping the FBI's abuses takes the focus off Iraq for the moment.

And Bush's promise of moving "as quickly as possible" to rein in the FBI allows his echo chamber to use the FBI's abuses as a symbol for showing that Bush does indeed respect the Constitution.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Posted by shertaugh at March 10, 2007 4:19 PM