Team Bush: Who Cares If It's Illegal?

The Bush cabal is preparing a massive PR drive to sell their illegal NSA wire-tapping (and block out the "noise" of their critics):

White House officials said on Friday that Bush will visit the National Security Agency on Wednesday as part of the effort. Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, former head of the NSA, will make a speech at the National Press Club on Monday and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will speak on Tuesday.

The problem is, no amount of spin can obsure the fact that Bush broke the law. That's a fact, Jack. And no amount of spin can change that - or can it????

Comments by senior staff are themselves very revealing:

"The American people want us to do everything in our power to prevent attacks," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

But that's just the point: by-passing the FISA court was NOT in Bush's power!

"Let me be as clear as I can be: President Bush believes if al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, it is in our national security interests to know who they're calling and why," Rove told the Republican National Committee's winter meeting.

Damn right, Karl. And FISA gives him the power to do just that. So why does Bush have to bypass the court, when he can monitor the calls and get court clearance up to 3 days later? Why?

Gonzales sent a report to the Senate on Thursday outlining the legal basis for the the eavesdropping program. He said the program "is also fully protective of the civil liberties guaranteed" by the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizes of evidence.

No it's not. It's un-Constitutional and it's a crime, and no amount of spin and lies - even from the President and the Attorney General - can change that.

Polls show a split among the public. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last week found 51 percent favored the program as a way to fight terrorism, while 47 percent did not. A Pew Research Center poll found 48 percent of respondents thought Bush's actions were generally right and 47 percent thought they were generally wrong.

So what? Even if 99 percent of the USA approved, that would not make it legal. Rather than throwing themselves at the mercy of public opinion, Bush & Co should be throwing themselves at the mercy of the courts.

And that means 'fessing up to everything they have been doing, for starters...

A Jan. 5 study by the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan research arm of Congress, questioned the administration's legal defense of the program. But it reached no firm conclusion about its legality because so many underlying facts are classified.

Let's put it another way, shall we?

Yes, your honour, I killed that woman, but nobody liked her anyway and besides, she was an evil person, and she was going to do something bad one day, trust me I just know it. And no, your honour, I am not going to tell you where the body is. Or even the weapon. And by the way, your honour, those screaming mobs at the courthouse door are all baying for my release. Yes, your honour, I am paying them good money and supplying them with pitchforks. But listen, your honour, let's be reasonable. The bitch is dead, your honour. So let's move on... OK? Where do you play golf, anyway? What are your career goals?