Top Items:
Joshua Roberts / Newsweek:
Bush's Snoopgate — The president was so desperate to kill The New York Times' eavesdropping story, he summoned the paper's editor and publisher to the Oval Office. But it wasn't just out of concern about national security. — Bush says he had 'legal authority' to permit …
Discussion:
Attytood, The Peking Duck, The Mahablog, IntoxiNation-News …, The Poor Man, The Left Coaster, Macsmind, The Strata-Sphere, Prairie Weather, firedoglake, The Washington Monthly, Donklephant, Booman Tribune ~ Boo!, Daily Kos, The Democratic Daily Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, AMERICAblog, Hullabaloo and Mia Culpa
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Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE NSA DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM: Was the secret NSA surveillance program legal? Was it constitutional? Did it violate federal statutory law? It turns out these are hard questions, but I wanted to try my best to answer them. My answer is pretty tentative …
Discussion:
Althouse, Crooked Timber, Confirm Them, Dean's World, Betsy's Page, The Right Coast, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, Decision '08 and The Truth Laid Bear
White House:
Press Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden, Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence — MR. McCLELLAN: Good morning, everybody. I've got with me the Attorney General and General Hayden here this morning to brief you on the legal issues surrounding …
Discussion:
Obsidian Wings, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Stop The ACLU, Eschaton, Billmon, www.AndrewSullivan.com, Stop the Bleating!, In Search Of Utopia and First Draft
Daniel J. Solove / Concurring Opinions:
Beyond His Power: Bush's Authorization of Warrantless NSA Surveillance — In this post, I aim to explore more in depth whether Bush had the legal power to authorize warrantless NSA surveillance. As I was putting the finishing touches on this post, I noticed that Orin Kerr beat me to the punch …
volokh.com:
AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. … I assume that the Administration's claim is that the AUMF counts as a "statute" that authorizes the surveillance: 50 U.S.C. 1809 states that "A person is guilty of an offense if he intentionally . . . engages in electronic surveillance under color …
Discussion:
OxBlog, Power Line, A Columbia Law Student Blog, Confederate Yankee, Is That Legal? and Hugh Hewitt
National Review:
Why Bush Approved the Wiretaps — In the days since the revelation that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to bypass, in certain cases of suspected al Qaeda activity, the special court set up to provide warrants for national-security wiretaps, the question has come up repeatedly: Why did he do it?
Discussion:
The Right Coast, The Decembrist, Power Line, Preemptive Karma, Secular Blasphemy and BrothersJudd Blog
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:Which Is It, Mr. President? — In his press conference this morning …
Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:"Catch them, but do not watch them!"
Discussion:
In Search Of Utopia
Walid Phares / The Counterterrorism Blog:Catch them, but do not watch them!.. — "Use their systems …
Washington Post:
President's Approval Rating Rebounds — President Bush's approval rating has surged in recent weeks, reversing what had been an extended period of decline, with Americans now expressing renewed optimism about the future of democracy in Iraq, the campaign against terrorism and the U.S. economy …
Discussion:
Mystery Pollster, Decision '08, Power Line, AMERICAN FUTURE, In the Bullpen, The Claremont Institute and The Next Hurrah
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CNN:
Iraq speeches, election don't help Bush — New poll: A majority doesn't approve of his handling of Iraq — CNN — President Bush's approval ratings do not appear to have changed significantly, despite a number of recent speeches he's given to shore up public support for the war in Iraq and its historic elections on Thursday.
Discussion:
Informed Comment
Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Poll: Bush's Approval Ratings Climb — Iraqi Elections, Economic Gains Lift President From Career Lows — Dec. 19, 2005 — The recent elections in Iraq and an improved economic outlook at home have shifted public support in the president's direction, lifting him from career lows in his job performance and personal ratings alike.
Discussion:
Say Anything, protein wisdom, USS Neverdock, A Chequer-Board of Nights … and SoCalPundit
White House:
Press Conference of the President — THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. Please be seated. Thanks. — Last night I addressed the nation about our strategy for victory in Iraq, and the historic elections that took place in the country last week. In a nation that once lived by the whims of a brutal dictator …
Discussion:
Obsidian Wings, anklebitingpundits.com, Ezra Klein, The Huffington Post, SoCalPundit, Michelle Malkin, The Carpetbagger Report, PoliPundit.com, Althouse, Hammer of Truth, Kokonut Pundits, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Sister Toldjah, AMERICAblog, Suitably Flip, Hugh Hewitt, Instapundit.com and Brendan Nyhan
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accessnorthga.com:
Congressman calls for Bush impeachment — U.S. Rep. John Lewis said Monday in a radio interview that President Bush should be impeached if he broke the law in authorizing spying on Americans. — The Democratic senator from Georgia told WAOK-AM he would sign a bill of impeachment …
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show — WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment …
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Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
FBI Papers Show Terror Inquiries Into PETA; Other Groups Tracked — FBI counterterrorism investigators are monitoring domestic U.S. advocacy groups engaged in antiwar, environmental, civil rights and other causes, the American Civil Liberties Union charged yesterday as it released new FBI records …
MSNBC:
Bush says leaking spy program a 'shameful act' — President vows to continue domestic eavesdropping — President Bush addresses reporters at the White House on Monday. — MSNBC TV VIDEO … WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday said disclosure of his domestic eavesdropping program was a …
RELATED ITEM:
David Stout / New York Times:Bush Says U.S. Spy Program Is Legal and Essential
Discussion:
War and Piece
Opinion Journal:
Our Friends the Pakistanis — Support for the U.S. is surging in some parts of the Muslim world. — So much for the popularly peddled view that anti-Americanism in the Muslim world is so pervasive and deep-rooted it might take generations to alter. A new poll from Pakistan …
Media Matters for America:
Couric pitted constitutional scholars versus "Americans" who "don't want another September 11" … On the December 19 broadcast of NBC's Today, host Katie Couric asked NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert whether the debate over the Bush administration's secret use of domestic surveillance without …
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Early Results Show Religious Groups Leading in Iraqi Vote — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 19 - Early voting results announced by Iraqi electoral officials today indicated that religious groups, particularly the main Shiite coalition, had taken a commanding lead, with nearly two-thirds of the ballots having been counted.
