Fred’s Delays and FISA
[See the update below]
I never did comment on the FISC order for more briefing on the question of whether it–the Court–should turn over to the ACLU the Court’s decisions ruling parts of the warrantless wiretap program illegal.Â
While the order is signed by the Presiding Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, I had a deja vu of the request Judge Walton (who joined the FISC about mid-way into the events that the ACLU hopes to reveal with its motion to unseal these orders) made inviting the parties in the Scooter Libby trial to submit briefs about whether or not Libby’s sentence could be legally commuted if he had never served a day of jail time. It was as if, having seen the results of a lot of hard work disappeared instantaneously, Walton was hoping someone would find a way to negate that process.
The FISC is in a similar position. After two unfavorable rulings, the Administration has decided to take its toys and go home; the amendments to FISA basically turn the FISC into a rubber stamp for the Administration. So the Court’s call for more briefing seems like a hopeful attempt to restore the quaint separation of powers mandated by the Constitution.
At any rate, I’m wondering whether the FISC’s efforts to restore that balance will once again fall victim to the Administrations pre-emptive temporal jujitsu. The deadlines the Court set for briefs were:
Administration response: August 31, 2007
ACLU reply: September 14, 2007
Yet today’s WaPo reports that the Administration has a deadline, today, that they’re going to miss.
The Administration knows what it is doing. Fred is an experienced hand having had a full dress rehearsal plugging the dam for Nixon.
I am also convinced that the Dems leadership in Congress knows what is going on. And the publishers of the corporate media are in the loop too.
The kabuki is purely for the benefit of the American public and to aid the corporate media to spin, obfuscate, confuse and bury the real story and complicity of all the power players in DC.
Thanks EW for keeping on it and digging and shining a spotlight on what I believe is the single most important issue of our time. Once the abyss is crossed there’s no turning back! We are witnessing the death of our constitution.
Anyone know if Speaker Pelosi plans to have a constituent town hall before the next sesssion? I would love to ask her how much liberty Americans should give up in order for the government to be confident that they can keep us â€safeâ€?
Is it really such a delicate stall tactic?
I’d call it ham-fisted, just like every other bit of stalling and obstruction undertaken since any congerssional investigations of this administration began after 11/06.
In the end the stalling is pointless. They will declare executive privilege and refuse to produce any documents. The stalling is to delay ultimate court showdown until after 11/08.
There is not a whole lot delicate here. Crude, obvious, and predictable, yes.
Government by flim flam. Actually, that is far to charitable. The seasoned, intelligent and efficient government of grown ups, led by the first MBA President, that we were promised in 2000 turns out not only to be unable to do anything competently, they can’t do anything timely either. Oh, what the hell, let’s give them some more unchecked power over some fundamental part of our lives. That will make things better and safer…..
Fielding can only learn from the One True Genius at dilatory maneuver in litigation, whom I take to be Bill Clinton–the 1998 elections being the most evident fruits of his talents in this line….
(My apologies for making an obscure leap here. It’s a minor obsession of mine.)
Yes! It’s Bill Clinton’s fault that Fielding actually ran this play ten years before Clinton was elected! Absolutely!
But perhaps I spoke too soon? After all, maybe Clinton is the model. After all, for all his dilatory maneuvering, he got imp_ _ ch _ _. (Help me out here, Tommy Coburn!).
There’s no mystery, no suspense, here. The end is known: Leahy will cave again, as usual. Come September, they (the Dem Congress) will play each and every play out the way BushCo wants them to. They WILL grant immunity to criminal telecoms. They WILL pull some kabuki on redressing the Constitutionocide they committed in July with the FISA bill, making it look like they are trying to do the right thing but failing because, you know, they don’t have the votes, blah blah.MOST voters will fall for it and continue to give money and love to the Dems. Meanwhile, besides the unconstitutional spying approved by the Dem Congress, they will CONTINUE to NOT restore habeas corpus and will continue to NOT undo the evil (beyond the habeas corpus murder) of the MCA. They will continue the â€we don’t have the votes†nonsense when it comes to terminating the debacle in Iraq. They will continue to ignore the tumble towards expanded war with Iran. In the end, they will still rake in the dough and laugh at the electorate for being the suckers that they are.
Kagro, isn’t it 18 years? Watergate ended in the summer of 1974 with Nixon’s resignation. Clinton was elected in 1992. Fielding’s dress rehersal was 32-33 years ago, Alabama.
One additional point to consider:
The Repugs do things like this to deliberately entice the Democrats into a slugfest.
And this is because they are Repugs who by their very nature are always spoiling for a fight. Iraq? Iran? FISA? FISC? Democrats? You betcha! Bring ’em on!
Repugs have convinced themselves that they are always bringing guns to a knife-fight.
Repugs see a problem? Break out the shotguns and start shooting at anything that moves.
Repugs are also convinced that their opponents will always â€cut and run†before the Repugs’ aggression.
And with respect to Democrats, who can say the Repugs are mistaken in their beliefs?
Come on Democrats! Sooner or later, you’re gonna have to fish or cut bait! The Repugs are out of ammunition and they’re running a bluff on you.
Call ’em out! And watch ’em scatter!
This is probably totally stupid (not the first time and definitely not the last) but why don’t SJC and HJC get info from the telcos and the wonks and nerds who do the actual capture and programming of the info. Why must they limit themselves to the White House and DOJ? Or why not ask a janitor at DOJ what’s turning up in the wastebaskets? There seems to be not only a failure of nerve on the part of the Democrats but also a failure of imagination. Maybe?
Mimikatz – I don’t know if you saw it or not a couple of days ago, but you brought up Qui Tam actions, I think in relation to Hatch Act violations. I left a response to you as follows: â€How does this activity fit into the False Claims Act for purposes of a Qui Tam action? I know I have shied away from Qui Tam before because of the stories I have heard from other litigators about their difficulty; but if you can tell me how we could make a serious run at it, I might be about ready.†I am at least semi-serious here; if you can mete out a cognizable theory, I’ll consider doing it. I don’t think the Hatch stuff fits, but I am willing to listen if I am wrong or if you have other ideas. Needs to be something flashy in order to make an impact; simply suing over the million dollar washers won’t do much for us. Government already has a restitution provision through the plea any way…..
Could somebody please declare a new law similar to the Godwin’s Law? We really need one for blaming Clinton. Perhaps it could be dubbed â€The ABC Rule†for Always Blame Clinton. The probability of blaming Clinton approaches 1…
The FISC action (and the action of the 9th Circuit in Hepting) will find their way into petitions for writs of certiorari — no matter which way the 9th Circuit and FISC rule.
Recently, I’ve been reading on the subject of state secret (my short take on the FISC Order includes links to the material that comprises my reading list), and find myself thinking about the principles in about the same way I have since December 2005. Can a government POLICY be secret? I understand that technical capabilities, certain individual cases and so forth will have secrecy elements, and I don’t have an issue with that. But I do wonder about the extent government can keep a wholesale policy secret, before the secrecy results in a dangerous undermining of the principle of â€self-government.â€
FWIW, a key to keeping this issue a live is to NEVER give statutory immunity to the third party telcos.
That risk is necessary in order for the people to keep pressure on the Courts. Obviously, Congressa nd the executive aren’t responsive to public pressure.
Heh heh. Straight from the Department of the Obvious…..
cboldt
Having jsut read the ACLU motion, I agree that’ll go to SCOTUS–it sets up some really intersting issues on just the issues you raise.
why don’t SJC and HJC get info from the telcos and the wonks and nerds who do the actual capture and programming of the info.
SIGINT is the most classified of the classified. Ain’t gonna happen. I’m willing to ascribe the silence to good motives — protecting national-security secrets. But in any event, it’s not like coming forward is a good thing.
Purity of heart is no defense. Geekitude is a compounding offense. They all know what happened to Samuel Morison. And everyone’s seen Frankie Pentangeli’s testimony against the Family….
Jail if you’re lucky, Gitmo, or Diego Garcia if you’re not.
For the record, folks, I’m not blaming Clinton, I’m expressing my admiration for him. I’m a fan, and take the ’98 election–in the context of the Republicans’ ten-year assassination-attempt against his character and his governance (of which the impeachment-comedy was just a chapter)–as a measure of his gift for timing (in my belief that he controlled the clock from February to November of ’98).
Another way of putting this: Fielding is hardly the gold standard for this kind of maneuvering, and I think he can be beaten. I certainly thought he was beaten back in ’73-’74, when I followed him on a daily basis.