By DEVLIN BARRETT – 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department on Monday released a long-secret legal document from 2001 in which the Bush administration claimed the military could search and seize terror suspects in the United States without warrants.
The legal memo was written about a month after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It says constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure would not apply to terror suspects in the U.S., as long as the president or another high official authorized the action.
Even after the Bush administration rescinded that legal analysis, the Justice Department refused to release its contents, prompting a standoff with congressional Democrats.
The memo was one of nine released Monday by the Obama administration.
Another memo showed that, within two weeks of Sept. 11, the administration was contemplating ways to use wiretaps without getting warrants.
The author of the search and seizure memo, John Yoo, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
In that memo, Yoo wrote that the president could treat terrorist suspects in the United States like an invading foreign army. For instance, he said, the military would not have to get a warrant to storm a building to prevent terrorists from detonating a bomb.
Yoo also suggested that the government could put new restrictions on the press and speech, without spelling out what those might be.
“First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully,” Yoo wrote, adding later: “The current campaign against terrorism may require even broader exercises of federal power domestically.”
While they were once important legal pillars of the U.S. fight against al-Qaida, some of the memos were withdrawn in the final days of the Bush administration.
In one of his first official acts as president, Barack Obama also signed an order negating the memos’ claims until his administration could conduct a thorough review.
In a speech Monday, Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder said that too often in the past decade the fight against terrorism has been put in opposition to “our tradition of civil liberties.”
That “has done us more harm than good,” he declared. “I’ve often said that the test of a great nation is whether it will adhere to its core values not only when it is easy but when it is hard.”
(This version CORRECTS that some memos were withdrawn, not all.)
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Rauol,
Wait, are you saying that the USA Patriot Act was legal?
Further, how can you say that Bush’s acts were minor in comparison? He did domestic wiretapping, deployed US military on American soil, denied due process, the Real ID Act is a huge violation of the 10th amendment. Also, there are several cases of American citizens who expressed dissent that were arrested and detained here in the United States. No, he didn’t do exactly what FDR did, but I fail to see how one can say that he was minor in comparison.
Here is just the latest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090304/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_waste
Obama shutting the door to ‘no-bid’ contracts.
I am not totally happy with Obama, but the upgrade is so striking that I am not personally ready to attack him as of yet. The war crimes, crimes against humanity and comprehensive assault on our Constitution that the Bushies waged has not been matched by the Obama Administration – not by a long shot.
Personally I have a major issue with the closing of Gitmo only to make Bagrahm AFB in Afghanistan the same black hole of lack of rights for detainees, but so many of the ugly doors opened during the Bush years have been closed by Obama I am trusting – at least for now – that things are going to continue to get better.
Not paid at all, my friend. And I’m not trying to cover anyone. I’m not saying anything for or against you- I’m just considering both sides and all available options. I’m concerned about what I saw in the last administration and am even more concerned to see it continuing. We have an administration now that tells us more American jobs will be lost than there are Americans which is a lie. We have an Obamessiah who told us 5 million Americans a month would lose their jobs if we didn’t approve money for every pet pork project on his wish list, which is a lie. We approved his wish list and now the Dow is lower than ever and Americans still are losing their jobs. It’s America I’m worried about, brother Mikael. My loyalty belongs to America alone. If anything, the current POTUS should be added to your list! Forcing states to take $ with strings attached against their governor’s wishes and against popular wishes is against the 10th Amendment. That power to force the state’s compliance is not granted to the Federal govt. so it violates the 10th. The power to control the salaries of CEOs after giving them money by adding the rule after the fact is not granted to the government either. If this trend continues, I hope you stay non-partisan and go after what looks like a power abusing official. All the Hope in the world can’t Change our charge to uphold the Constitution. Thanks for hearing me out.
I hope you are getting paid, Raoul, to cover the asses of these war criminals, because otherwise there is really no excuse for your misdirected loyalty.
Typo… should say “As this article states, members of the administration penned that circumventing Constitutional stipulations may be possible and may be necessary.
Mikael,
There are also some similarities between the two administrations. There’s the guy in Oklahoma who got arrested for the anti-Obama sign in his truck and the two in Colorado who claim they were forced to leave a public event because of an anti-Bush bumper sticker. Many claim Bush used the war to usurp power and circumvent proper procedure. Many claim Obama/Pelosi/Congress are using the economy to circumvent budgetary procedure and hijack the treasury in the funding of what are traditionally viewed as liberal social issues. To me, the bumper sticker/sign issues are just as silly as the “threatening” of then Senator Obama by the guy in Ohio that bloggerinterrupted was so interested in.
As this article states, members of the administration penned opinions that circumventing Constitutional stipulations. Many of these concepts became legal in the USA PATRIOT Act, which passed with 98 Yea votes in the Senate- a truly legal and bipartisan measure, which is strikingly different from the 3 Republicans necessary for the stimulus bill to be called “bipartisan”. Bush did not form the Relocation Camps that seem to make FDR seem a much more worthy candidate of purging. 110,000 Americans in camps based on Japanese heritage is a greater outrage against civil rights and equality than the monitoring of phone calls from overseas involving terror suspects. At least we’re not like England where there are video cameras at almost every turn for The Common Good. Bush’s measures are minor compared to these miscarriages of rights. Analysis is different from action. He may have been told that these subordinations of rights were possible, or even necessary, but he applied them as sparingly as possible and as legally as possible.
Some is the same and some has changed. There is a huge difference between these two administrations.
Mikael is this a “Biden” bad-ad-vice scam? Do we have another Cheney or do we have another War? We leaveing Iraq for another War?
Mikael its the same game,,,,,,same player’s,,,,,,only the playing board has changed!
Mikael same CIA Corruption,,,,,Mikael I dont approve or support the Obama Tax Hike on the rich,,,,,Mikael wants your scoop?
This Tax Hike is just a cover-up for Bush wastefull spending.