Former DOJ Lawyer Couldn't Find Way to Legalize Bush Spying Program
Ryan Singel writes on Threat Level:
Senator Patrick Leahy (D- Vermont) wasted no time in pushing former administration lawyer Jack Goldsmith about the legality of the warrantless wiretapping program. Goldsmith, who in 2004 revised the opinion giving legal cover to the program, sparked a conflagration between the Justice Department and the White House, which peaked with the Intensive Care Showdown at then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's bedside.Much more here.
"Is it fair to say in your opinion the warrantless wiretapping program or at least significant parts of it were illegal or without legal basis?" Leahy asked.
"It was a legal mess," Goldsmith said. "It was the biggest legal mess I encountered there."
"I'm worried about what label we attach to programs - I will say there were certain aspects of programs related to the [Terrorist Surveillance Program] that I could not find legal support for."
That's careful lawyerese for illegal. Especially when that lawyer's job at the time was to find any reasonable basis to support the Administration's work.
posted by Fergie @ 10/02/2007 10:30:00 AM
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