FISA Judge's Secret Ruling Restricts Bush's Wiretapping Authority

Congressional aides (who asked not to be identified talking about ongoing negotiations) said today that Democratic and Republican leaders of the intelligence committees met until late Tuesday night trying to reach an agreement on a short-term measure that would grant some of the enhanced authority—including the ability to tap telecommunications switches without warrants—that the administration is seeking. One stumbling block that has emerged: the administration's insistence that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales be given an expanded role to oversee the program—a particularly controversial move at the moment, given new allegations that the embattled attorney general has misled Congress about legal disputes over the surveillance program.

Politics aside, whether one believes Gonzales is guilty of impropriety, or just caught in a political game, it is obvious he is rather occupied fighting for his job at the moment. Should his role be expanded right now to handle overseeing a highly sensitive and important surveillance program?

According to this report, despite past concerns regarding the legality of the way the President worked around the FISA system, the Democrats are willing to provide Bush limited latitude to legally work around the system in this case. But remarkably he won't accept their willingness to work around FISA unless Gonzales heads the program!

This, while even some senior Republicans are questioning Gonzales's leadership! What the hell? It's difficult to find even the usual weak Administration rationale in this.

Not to mention the obvious concern of the President employing another surveillance program, this one which was explicitly restricted by a FISA judge.