Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Feinstein NAILS Gonzales

Every now and then there's a moment when you stand up and cheer for the lil guy. When Diane Feinstein nailed Gonzales in a complete lack of logical argument - I had the squeal.

From Tuesday's judiciary hearing:

Feinstein: "About FISA, you say that the President has the authority to wiretap Americans without warrants due to his war powers under Article 2, correct?"

Gonzales: "Yes."

Feinstein: "And I got a letter from your associate saying that the President could act because Congress had not set up a statute. Well, that's not true. The FISA law clearly says that the President can eavesdrop without warrants for 15 days after a declaration of war."

Gonzales: "Yes, but we didn't have a declaration of war, only an authorization to use military force, so we couldn't work with that provision."

Feinstein: "So you're saying that the AUMF does not amount to a declaration of war?"

Gonzales: "Obviously they are different."

Feinstein: "So if the AUMF is not a declaration of war, the president shouldn't have WAR powers!"

Gonzales: "................."

(whispers in the chamber...)

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