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Dear Nadia,
Yesterday, President Bush delivered a speech at National
Security Agency headquarters -- literally "ground zero" in the
debate over his program of illegal domestic wiretaps.
His publicized speech is yet one more public relations effort
by the President to defend an utterly indefensible policy.
The President hopes that his speech -- part of
an all-out marketing blitz launched by the White House, with
streams of TV appearances by Karl Rove, former NSA director
Michael Hayden, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- will
turn the tide of public opinion.
It's up
to you and me to tell the White House that their PR efforts
aren't working. There's no way to defend a policy that
violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, even if you're
President of the United States.
You've already emailed the White House about this
issue -- and we thank you so much for your support. Now
help us build a groundswell of grassroots action to demand an
end to this illegal policy.
Invite your friends & family to
email President Bush today -- demand an end to his policy of
illegal wiretaps without court orders!
The White House is growing more
desperate by the day because their excuses and justifications
are falling flat. As Americans, we all want our
government to keep us safe -- but that means fighting
terrorism at every turn, using legal tools that include checks
and balances, not illegally eavesdropping on Americans'
private phone conversations without warrants.
On
Monday, President Bush claimed that these warrantless wiretaps
were authorized by Congress's resolution authorizing the war
on terrorism and invasion of Afghanistan. That claim has
been thoroughly debunked by Senator Tom Daschle, who has
spoken out publicly about his explicit refusal to include
language in the 2001 resolution that would have given this
Administration any expansive powers. The nonpartisan
Congressional Research Service has questioned the legality of
this policy, and so have many legal scholars and even several
prominent Republicans.
Then on Tuesday, Attorney
General Gonzales incredibly claimed that someone should have
spoken up earlier to make their concerns known -- as if the
only test of something's legality depends on complaint being
heard. In fact, Senator Jay Rockefeller did indeed
express his concerns to Vice President Cheney in a handwritten
letter after being briefed on the program -- concerns
that were totally ignored.
It's time for the excuses to end, and for
President Bush to admit his mistakes -- invite everyone you
know to demand an end to this illegal, warrantless wiretap
policy now!
Through all the bluster
and all the excuses, President Bush has avoided answering one
most fundamental question: Why is current law
under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- the
process for rapidly authorizing secret wiretaps that has been
in place for nearly 30 years -- not good enough?
The President can't answer that
question because this policy is nothing more than a naked
power grab. It's an effort to bypass all judicial review
because President Bush appears to believe his Administration
is above the law. It's also part of a long pattern of
unilateralism by the Bush Administration that has produced
illegal policies on torture, and which even helped the White
House mislead the nation into war in Iraq.
So
this week, with President Bush is delivering his speech at the
National Security Agency, it's time for us to deliver our own
message to the White House:
No more excuses. No more unauthorized wiretaps.
Stop illegal domestic spying
now.
Sincerely,
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Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
P.S. Please take just a moment to invite your friends
& family to make their voices heard now. Help
us send a message to the White House that they can't
ignore!
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