Specter Backs Holder And Proposes Blanket Amnesty For Illegal Government Surveillance…This Cannot Happen!
These Bastards are not only looking to protect everyone from prosecution that Bush did not cover with a “blanket pardon” but they are looking to both legitimize and institutionalize every corruption of Constitutional Rule that they desire and have become accustomed to. What does that tell you?
"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!"
- Emile Zola, J'accuse! (1898) –
Specter: Psych! I'll Back Holder | By Elana Schor - January 27, 2009, 3:09PM
It may be time to coin the phrase "pulling a Specter," because Sen. Arlen Specter (PA), the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, just did it again. After making a huge fuss questioning the independence of Eric Holder, Specter just caved and said he'll support the attorney general nominee.
"I can say with some confidence that there won't be a successful filibuster," Specter told reporters at a press conference gathered to share his thoughts on Holder in advance of tomorrow's Judiciary panel vote on the nominee.
Specter added that the strong recommendations Holder received from former FBI director Louis Freeh and former DoJ No. 2 James Comey were influential in swaying his vote.
"At no time did I challenge Mr. Holder's integrity," the Pennsylvania senator concluded. (But he sure came close, according to Holder himself.) "It was a question of judgment."
Speaking of judgment, Holder also has resolved -- to Specter's satisfaction, at least -- the GOP demand that he promise not to prosecute Bush administration intelligence officials who engaged in brutal interrogations at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
"The gist of" Holder's stance on the issue, Specter told me, "is that if you have an authoritative legal opinion, that's a defense in terms of mens rea, of intent. That's a broad generalization. I don't think you can go any further than that until you examine the specific facts of a case."
"[There may be] an opinion that allows an interrogator to go so far, and the conduct [in question] vastly exceeds that," Specter added, referring to the 2002 "Bybee memo" on torture that was later repudiated by the Bush DoJ. "It's really going to be fact-specific."
It looks like the grown-ups have won. But for the hardest-core GOP senators, the point may never have been to stop Holder's confirmation -- merely to wound the new administration.
Late Update: Thanks to the eagle-eyed reader who sent in Specter's letter to the editor -- printed in this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer -- in which he takes a hard line against Holder. Citing Louis Freeh, no less. What a difference a few hours makes, eh, senator?
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the joshua blog: Arlen Pulls A Specter: Now Backs Eric Holder
By the joshua blog
Arlen Specter (PA), the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, just did it again. After making a huge fuss questioning the independence of Eric Holder, Specter just caved and said he'll support the attorney general nominee. "I can say with some confidence that there won't be a .... Only if Stupid Is a Crime - Is Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about to be impeached on grounds of loopiness, obnoxiousness and a bad haircut? Apparently so. In defense of the Illinois . ...
the joshua blog - http://thejoshuablogs.blogspot.com/
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/09/specter-surveillance-amnesty/
NO, NO, NO!!!
Specter Caves, Proposes Blanket Amnesty For Illegal Government Surveillance»
At first, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) talked tough about the President’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program, insisting that it be subject to judicial review. From the 2/17/06 New York Times:
[C]ritics of the program, including some Republicans..say it must be brought within the scope of the intelligence court. Among them is Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who is circulating legislation that would require the court to pass judgment on whether the wiretapping is constitutional.
“Unless they’re prepared to have a determination on constitutionality as to their programs, window-dressing oversight will not be sufficient,” Specter said.
Now, Specter has unveiled a new version of his legislation. Instead of requiring the administration to submit to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the new bill simply makes it optional:
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has proposed legislation that would give President Bush the option of seeking a warrant from a special court for an electronic surveillance program such as the one being conducted by the National Security Agency.
Further, Specter has now included a provision protecting anyone who authorizes illegal surveillance from legal trouble:
Another part of the Specter bill would grant blanket amnesty to anyone who authorized warrantless surveillance under presidential authority, a provision that seems to ensure that no one would be held criminally liable if the current program is found illegal under present law.
Glenn Greenwald, who describes Specter’s bill as dragging the country to a still new level of lawlessness, has more.
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They really do not believe in The Constitution
or
The Rule of Law!
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