Bush and Wiretaps: Congress, Citizens, This Means War
"Bush and his advisers do not claim that his actions are legal because they abide by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA; they quite clearly violate that law. Instead, they claim his actions are legal because as commander in chief, he can violate the law if he chooses and still be acting legally.
It is, in other words, his royal prerogative.
That is an extraordinary assertion of executive power, particularly since the president claims this authority will last 'so long as the nation faces the continuing threat of an enemy that wants to kill American citizens,' which is pretty much forever."
- posted by geoff @ #